


The Thing That Should Not Be

by louisandsass



Category: One Direction (Band), Radio 1 RPF, The Wanted (Band)
Genre: Angst, Competition, Drama, Fluff, Friendship, I'm Sorry, Jealousy, Lies, M/M, Scheming, Surprise Pairing, This fic is on haitus, Twitter fucks shit up as always, XX
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-09
Updated: 2014-08-24
Packaged: 2017-12-07 22:58:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 61,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/754056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/louisandsass/pseuds/louisandsass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After various public arguments on Twitter, it is evident that the boys of One Direction are not very fond of The Wanted and vice versa. Harry, though, shows no such animosity. As a consequence of Harry’s budding friendship with one particular member of The Wanted, Louis takes it upon himself to scheme and sabotage because he can, okay? Zayn helps while Liam and Niall have no clue how to stop them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. click on it

**Author's Note:**

> Please read this first...
> 
> I was originally inspired to write this fic last year when Zayn had that Twitter fight with Max George where “geek” and other shade were tossed around. I also never got over the time that Louis kinda promised Nathan a date when Tom was like why don’t y’all kiss already or whatever TF he said. So I wrote this /months/ ago but then I lost my inspiration. Just recently, as everyone knows unless you’re living under a rock, Louis and Tom got into an entertaining brawl until Tom killed it with the gay joke. Suddenly I found my inspiration again and this fresh squabble fit perfectly with what I originally planned for this fic. Maybe it was meant to be?? 
> 
> ***Disclaimer: For whom this may concern: I personally have nothing against The Wanted. I’m not their biggest fan either. I think they’re alright. (Although Tom is starting to bug me but whatever who cares really.) 
> 
> (please read my other disclaimer at the end of the page if you want :p)
> 
> Without further ado, let the sabotage begin!

_“You can wipe out your opponents. But if you do it unjustly you become eligible for being wiped out yourself.”_

_-_ Ernest Hemingway

“Fucking pricks,” Zayn utters, loud enough for Louis to hear from out in the hallway. He was about to enter his friend’s bedroom as he was going to thank him for breakfast.

“What’s going on?”   

Zayn points to the screen of his laptop and waits for Louis to join him at his desk. The older boy skim reads the article on _The Sun’s_ website that has Zayn clenching a fist. Their latest argument on Twitter with a few members of The Wanted has riled up some debate on whether the bands genuinely dislike each other or if it’s all for entertainment and silly banter. It is also believed that they simply do it for the press time.

Louis scans the article, stopping at a quote from Max George. Zayn reads it out loud as if on cue. “It’s ridiculous, really,” he reads with his best impression of Max’s accent, “All we do is congratulate One Direction well on their growing success!”

“Crock of shit!”

The two boys turn their attention to Niall who leans against the door frame with a bowl of cereal balancing in one hand.

“Exactly!” Zayn exclaims. “He’s making us sound like the instigators.”

“No, I mean, this cereal is expired,” Niall pouts.

Zayn rolls his eyes. “Were the waffles not enough? Christ, Niall.”

Liam enters the room with a chuckle. He rests an arm on Niall’s shoulder and scrunches his nose up at the old cereal.  “Zayn, to be fair, you did sort of start it this time. You poked fun at Max in his picture with Usher.”

The other three glare at their reasonable band mate whom only raises his hands in defeat. “Bunch of butts?” he offers.

“Much better,” Louis smirks, “But work on your insults, young Liam.” He pats the brunette’s head on his way out of the room.

“Where is he going?” Liam asks.

“Home, Harry’s back from the dentist,” Niall explains. “And Zayn, the waffles were wheat; you should be ashamed of yourself!”

As he exits Zayn’s flat, Louis hears a scuffle start up and opts out of rescuing Niall for his critical comment. Liam can handle it.

Harry’s waiting, anyway.

~ ~ ~

Louis barely hangs up his jacket in the foyer of their flat when Harry pounces on him. He moans into the kiss that his boyfriend greets him with, yearning for closer contact. They press against each other, only coming up for air once, twice. Harry pulls away to tug at Louis’ shirt. Louis complies by lifting his arms up. It comes off quicker than usual and ends up somewhere on the floor.

The younger boy licks his lips and inclines his head until their foreheads are touching. “My gums are still sore,” he admits in a husky voice.

Louis laughs, tiptoeing up for a chaste kiss. “Harry Styles, getting me out of my clothes whilst high off anesthetics? Is this a new kink?”

“Post-high. I’m good now, see?” His eyes are glazed and his cheeks are a bit swollen.

“You didn’t head back on your own, did you?”

“Paul rode with me.”

“Should have gone with you,” Louis mumbles ruefully, biting his bottom lip. He cups Harry’s jaw with one hand, the other entangles in his hair.

“No worries.”

They kiss again, slowly this time. Louis tries to lift Harry’s shirt up but is stopped.

“Not fair. _My_ shirt is off!”

“Just wanted to make sure it was still there.”

Louis raises an eyebrow. Harry grins and takes his hand, leading him to the mirror in the bathroom. A purple love bite adorns Louis’ golden skin right beneath his collar bones. It’s shaped strangely.

“Looks like a bird,” Harry whispers from behind. He’s mesmerized with Louis’ reflection, wraps his long arms around the older boy’s waist.

“Could be,” Louis agrees, twisting around to face his tall, dimple-blessed boyfriend. A mischievous gleam in those green eyes meets him. “Did you do this on purpose?”

“Nope.” Harry attempts to keep a straight face but fails.

Louis chases the glee out of him with a messy kiss and pokes at his chest. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

~ ~ ~

Harry wakes up before Louis the next day, carefully disentangling himself from the sleeping form of his handsome mate.

In the kitchen, Harry gets the kettle going. As he drops some slices of bread in the toaster, he hears the distinct sound of his phone ringing with a new message. He rushes to the bedroom where he left it, hoping it won’t wake Louis. Too late, he’s already stretching and rubbing his eyes. Harry tenderly ruffles Louis’ hair and checks his phone.

**_Fancy an afternoon of shopping? Around 3? I haven’t anything to wear for Sunday night xx_ **

“Who is it?” Louis asks in a gruff voice. He doesn’t like having his sleep interrupted.

“Grimmy,” Harry responds absently.

**Sure, I’ll pick you up xx**

“What does Nick _want_?”

Harry acknowledges the fact that Louis doesn’t like Nick. Not that he’s given him a real reason. Whatever it is, it doesn't keep Harry from hanging out with the much older radio host.

“He doesn’t know what to wear for the premiere, asked for my help.”

“He was invited?"

The way Louis says it has Harry shooting him a glare. “Be nice.”

Louis purses his lips and crosses his arms. “What time are you going?”

“Three. Now stop sulking.” Harry climbs over him and they wrestle for a bit, Louis not allowing any mercy. He grinds his hips against Harry while digging his nails into those broad shoulders.

“I love you,” Harry says, out of breath and tensed. Louis senses his problem and slips a hand down Harry’s briefs.

A typical Friday morning, it is.

~ ~ ~

Louis makes Harry late for his meeting with Nick, making sure to brand him with a proper love bite visible enough for the other to see. Once the lanky, curly-haired boy is gone, Louis watches a Friends marathon on TV. He goes on Twitter hours later, a site he’s been trying to stay away from. He doesn’t want management to phone him again since he tends to get a bit carried away at times. He scoffs at that rationality because, obviously, it’s others who get carried away. All he does is set jerks straight.

Mindlessly scrolling through his timeline, he catches a mention that’s been retweeted by many people he follows.

**@TomTheWanted: @MaxTheWanted @zaynmalik1D @Louis_Tomlinson hey now, play nice kids!**

Louis stares at the tweet. He scrolls through the conversation he apparently missed and catches up quickly. Max George initiated it just half an hour ago, calling Zayn a “poser” for posting an old picture of himself and Louis on motorcycles. Zayn called him a “fucking loser” in retort. Max offended the quiff. Zayn compared the lad's bald head to Pitbul’s. They went back and forth until Tom Parker surprisingly put a stop to it, unless “play nice kids” was mere sarcasm. Most likely the latter, Louis decides.

His phone buzzes on the coffee table. He doesn’t look at the screen because the timing is impeccable; it’s obvious whose calling.

“Bro—”

_“Lou, hey, did you see?”_

“Yeah, Max is stupid.”

Zayn sighs rather noisily. “ _So is Parker. But that’s not what I was going to ask.”_

“Oh? Go on then?”

_“Have you seen the trending list on Twitter?”_

“Hold on…” Louis places the call on speaker. He reads through the current trends and stumbles upon a rather offensive one. 

_#HarryAndTomDate_

_“Click on it.”_

Louis wasn't waiting for his friend’s instruction, he was already clicking along. In the Top News section, a couple of pictures of Harry and Tom are the highlight of the trend. Louis enlarges the photos. Harry is clearly in the middle of a conversation with Tom, smiles evident, as they descend an escalator in the Westfield London Shopping Centre. Then there’s Nick behind them, looking awkwardly out of place. Like a third wheel.

_“Lou?”_

“Hmm?” Louis is steaming and Zayn probably knows it.

_“Since when is Harry friends with that idiot?”_


	2. jokes and sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Nick run into Louis' favorite person at the mall.

Harry picks up Nick later than he said he would. The host of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show doesn’t seem to mind. Not when he spots Louis’ affection on Harry’s neck as soon as he climbs into the Range Rover.

“How’s that boy of yours?” Nick chortles.

“Fantastic.”

“He still doesn’t approve of me?” Nick slaps Harry’s hand away from the radio playfully and changes the station. “How long has it been? Centuries?”

“He’ll come around.”

The other gives an airy laugh. “It’s okay, mate. I don’t blame him. I’d be jealous of myself too. I mean, have you seen my hair?”

~ ~ ~

“Does this blazer make me look fat?” Nick asks louder than the first five times. They’ve been at Topman for over an hour, not getting anywhere close to finding Nick’s outfit.

Harry barely glances up from his phone and shrugs. “Looks alright to me.”

“Styles, quit texting, I need your opinion elsewhere. But first tell Lou-Lou I say hello.”

“I’m not texting Louis. It’s Zayn and Max George, they’re at it again.”

“Zayn’s my hero.”

Unlike the others, Harry prefers to stay out of pointless quarrels with The Wanted. He’s convinced they aren’t as bad as Zayn and Louis make them out to be. Last time the bands ran into each other at an event, the guys were civil, even said they liked their Take Me Home album. Zayn was certain they were only pretending to be friendly. Louis went on to badmouth their outfits while Harry walked away and pretended nothing was bothering him. Because it does—bother him—that is. In his opinion, the bands should be supportive of each other regardless of competition.

Nick tries on many more outfits until he finally finds something suitable for the movie premiere. On their way out of the shop, Harry spots some paparazzi a long distance away. Nick sees them too and feels for his friend, knowing that he prefers privacy on days like this.

“Let’s go to the second floor. I’ve been craving some dried fruit from The Nut Hut.”

Harry appreciates his friend’s idea and hopes they won’t get followed that way. Nick asks for samples of pistachios while Harry stands to the side, eyes glued to his phone’s Twitter app. He finds it odd that Louis hasn’t said something sassy to back up Zayn in his current argument. Harry’s boyfriend never takes these things lightly, usually finding hilarious retorts.

He refreshes his timeline for the millionth time and sees something that was retweeted by a fan.

“Play nice kids?” Nick reads aloud over Harry’s shoulder, momentarily startling him. “Tom said that? Well look who wants peace all of a sudden.”

“Peace _would_ be nice.”

Harry and Nick both jump at the addition to their conversation. Tom Parker walks up to them with three boxes of fudge and an iPhone balanced in his hands.

“Styles. Grimshaw,” he greets.

“Parker?” Nick’s attempting to hold back a remark, Harry can tell, but limits himself to simply mock Tom’s peculiar greeting.

Eyeing the guy curiously, Harry asks, “How’s it going?”

Honestly, what are the odds that they would run into this bloke at the mall? It just strikes Harry odd. He’d only just seen him mediate the arguers.

“Not too bad. Was in the mood for fudge, didn’t expect to run into you here.”

“I can say the same. Except I prefer dried fruit, fudge will make my teeth rot,” Nick rambles.

Tom either doesn’t hear or is pointedly ignoring him. He’s focusing all of his attention on Harry, eyes not leaving his face. “Did you get taller mate?” This time he looks Harry up and down.

“Mate?” Nick repeats under his breath.

Harry looks down at himself, blushing and all. “I don’t think so?”

“I think it’s the skinny jeans,” Nick quips. “Makes his frame look slightly elongated, quite natural of the fabric.”

“You’ll be at the premiere, I suppose?” Tom directs his question at Harry.

“Yeah, with the rest of the band.”

“Including me,” Nick states, although no one is listening.

Harry wonders why Tom is making small talk with him. It’s awkward, almost forced. Wonders why he’s acting as if Nick is invisible.

“I have a necklace like that,” Tom shares, stepping closer to Harry. His eyes linger on Louis’ love bite that’s peeking out from Harry’s shirt. Harry sucks in a breath. He’s not sure what’s going on, never having been in a situation like this before. Not with someone Louis dislikes—not with someone like Tom. He usually keeps his distance when they run into each other at events. There must be something Harry isn’t picking up on.

Two preteen girls walk up shyly to the three men. The shorter of the two hands her phone to Nick. “We were wondering,” she says, clearing her throat, “Could we get a picture?”

Nick grins. “I’d love to, sweetie!” He leans down and is about to snap the picture when the girl’s friend screams. Tears leak down her face as she looks up at Harry in awe. He reaches for her and wraps her in a hug, motioning for the shorter one to join them.

“Of course.”

Harry catches his eye and gives him an apologetic smile.

Tom shakes his head, this time acknowledging Nick’s existence. “This must happen often when you’re out together.”

“Even in the loo, can you imagine?”

Harry shoots his friend a look and poses for a picture with his young fans. They hardly glance at Tom, most likely unaware of who he is.

“I don’t think we have many fans their age,” Tom concedes.

Harry rejoins them after the girls leave. “We should probably go before they spread the word that we’re here.” Though he knows he was the only one who was recognized, he throws that _we_ in there to not make the situation further uncomfortable.

“But I didn’t get my dried fruit,” Nick whines.

“We’ll come back some other time.”

“I was just about to leave as well,” Tom admits.

Nick and Harry exchange a look without him seeing. They’re thinking the same thing: if the paparazzi sees them leave with this guy…

“How are the others?” Tom inquires as they all exit The Nut Hut. They have no other choice but to walk with him. Harry doesn’t want to be rude and Nick doesn’t really care as long as they get out of there quickly.

“They’re alright. How are your mates?”

Harry scans level two. He doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary, no camera flashes, and especially no screaming girls. They go down the escalator, Tom right beside him and Nick a step back. He tried to stand with Harry but Tom had managed to beat him to it.

“Great, thanks. You know, I’m really impressed with your new album. Little Things, chokes me up every time.”

Harry laughs. He feels lighter all of a sudden, a bit more at ease. He’s surprised at Tom’s revelation. “Try singing it.”

“No thanks,” Tom says, joining Harry in his laughter. “It would be a hot mess.”

Harry realizes that the guy misunderstood him. He replays his words in his head and backtracks. “I mean, it’s hard for me to sing it because of the underlying meaning. I wasn’t referring to pitch or tone.” He feels he has to disclose that, not wanting Tom to think he’s poking fun at his voice.

Tom nods, like he understands. Harry smiles.

They talk all the way to the parking lot, only stopping twice for Harry to take pictures with fans. He notices how Tom goes unrecognized.

“I’m parked way at the end. Nice running into you, Styles. I’ll catch you tomorrow night.”

“Yeah, okay. Sure.”

“Goodbye, Thomas, it was a pleasure! Come to the Breakfast Show one of these days so we can have a chatzy!”

Tom simply nods at Nick’s invitation and speeds off. As soon as he’s out of earshot, Nick playfully tugs on Harry’s curls. “Yeah, okay,” he mocks, feigning a soft, girly voice. “Sure! Aww, how precious of you.”

“Shove off.”

“You two really hit it off. Once your knickers untwisted, that is. Should’ve seen your face when he appeared.”

Harry narrows his eyes.

“I’m seriously planning on disowning you right now.”

“Ah, come on, Harold, it’s all in the name of… Wait, he’s supposed to be your enemy!”

~ ~ ~

Louis is close to hanging up on Zayn. “They are not friends,” he hisses for the hundredth time.

“ _Better not be_.”

“Listen, I’ll talk to him when he gets home.”

Louis hangs up on his friend before he could continue speculating that Harry has betrayed them, been spending time with those twats.

It’s ludicrous. A friendship between Harry, _his_ Harry, and that peasant… No way.

He returns to studying other pictures that were taken of them whilst at Westfield. They look like old friends, like it was normal for them to be walking together. Maybe even shopping together? The idea sickens Louis so much that he decides to get away from all social media sites for the rest of the evening, forgetting to shut down his laptop.

~ ~ ~

Harry gets home as the sun starts to set. He finds the adorable site of Louis napping on the couch, cuddled up with a cushion. Harry sweeps Louis’ fringe aside to kiss his forehead, rubs his soft cheek affectionately. His eyelids flicker, giving Harry a sample of those cerulean orbs he always loses himself in. That’s the most he stirs, immediately going back to sleep. Harry sighs and decides to give him another half hour. The bad habits one can pick up from Zayn…

Louis’ laptop is sitting idly on the coffee table. Harry scoops it up and sits with it on his favorite recliner. He’s curious to check the latest news and make sure he wasn’t spotted with Tom. Oh, but his hopes were too high. Without having to open a new tab, a collection of HD pictures of himself, Tom, and Nick are already waiting for him. He glances at his curvy boyfriend, whom was shamelessly keeping a tab on him. Literally.

He wants to yell at Louis, unsure why. But then he’s going through each picture, enlarging them one at a time. Weird, one would think him and Tom are friends, judging by how close they are to each other and how genuine their smiles are. He exhales, nearly dropping the laptop from his lap.

“Hazza?”

Harry tries to be angry at him, he does, but there isn’t an actual reason why he should be. It doesn’t help that Louis looks so endearing with his hair sticking out in awkward directions and his eyes half open, half shut. So he walks over to his sleepy boyfriend, crouches down to his level on the couch and smiles. “Hey there,” Harry breathes.

Instead of the happy reaction he was expecting to get, Louis sits up and crosses his arms, pouts. “Hi.”

 _Oh boy_.

“How was your nap?”

“Cozy. How was your shopping?”

“Cozy.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “So you and Tom Parker, huh?”

“We ran into him in The Nut Hut.” Harry holds his breath, praying the older boy will leave it at that.

“And?” Louis looks at him expectantly.

“We talked.”

“About?”

“Literally nothing important, mostly about work.”

“Looked more like jokes and sunshine to me.”

Louis’ being stubborn. The last thing Harry wants to do is fight with him but the lad is pushing him dangerously close to doing so.

“Lou, just ask Nick if you don’t believe me. He was there too.” Harry goes to their spare bedroom and closes the door. Louis can think whatever he wants. He pulls out his phone and texts Nick: 

**Why are men so difficult?**

Nick responds right away. 

**_Since when are you and Tomlinson men?? Barely kids, I reckon._ **

Harry smiles to himself, typing out a quick witty response and nearly dropping his phone with the sound of the door opening. He wasn’t expecting Louis to give in so promptly. It’s all in the way he’s lingering at the doorway, makes Harry want to pull him close to his chest.

“I’m being a prick, I know.”

“You have nothing to worry about.”

Louis shurgs. “I know. It’s just—you know how I feel about that band and—”

Harry beckons him over, opening his arms and tilting his head to the side. He doesn’t want to talk about it anymore, or at least not argue. Louis smiles and joins him at the bed, straddling Harry with ease. Louis kisses into his mouth, begging Harry to accept his tongue. He obviously gave up on talking as well. So, Harry fucks him senseless, Louis letting him roll their bodies and moaning in pleasure. They’re sweaty and breathless when Louis whispers how much he loves his boyfriend, taking his hand and leading him to the shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update contained mostly dialogue, I don't know if that's a bad thing, sorry.
> 
> xx cheers!
> 
> :)


	3. thicker than frosting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry blows up. Louis is a crappy boyfriend. Zayn's an instigator. Liam just wants to help. Niall wants food.

“Why the hell were you hanging out with Parker?” Zayn inquires as soon as he opens the door to his flat. He doesn’t even greet his guests whom he instructed Niall to invite over.

Harry, standing freshly showered and pink-faced beside Louis, frowns. “Lou, you told him?” His hand loosens its hold on Louis’.

“ _Zayn_ saw the pictures first. Informed me right away, actually,” Louis clarifies much to Zayn’s chagrin. He’ll apologize later for throwing him under the bus.

“Thanks for that, pal.”

Louis’ heart falls when Harry lets go of his hand and shoves past Zayn to get into the flat. At least he’s staying.

Zayn knits his eyebrows as he watches his friend disappear down the hall. Louis follows suit but Zayn blocks his path. “For now I’m not going to punch you for ratting me out but I am going to demand you tell me everything.”

“Tell you what?” Louis tries to move past his friend again. Zayn doesn’t budge.

“Why was Harry hanging out with Tom?”

“They weren’t _hanging out_. Not really, I guess. They ran into each other at that damn nut store Grimshaw is obsessed with. I don’t think their products are even fresh. Last time I tried something from there, I swear my teeth almost chipped off—”

“But what did they talk about?” Zayn presses.

“Nothing important.”

“Well, whatever it was, it looked too friendly.”

“What are you getting at, Malik?”

“I just hope they aren’t going to suddenly become friends.”

Louis quits trying to enter. He doesn’t say anything else because Niall joins them, pushing Zayn aside to pull Louis towards him.

“What are you guys doing over here? You’re holding up the fun!”

“What fun?” Louis asks, his query slightly muffled by Niall’s unprecedented hug.

“Fifa! Didn’t I say that in my message?”

“No. All I heard was ‘Zayn’s in 20’ and something about pizza.”

“You guys were supposed to bring pizza, you jerks!”

“Then next time do not fucking stuff your face before leaving a voicemail. It’s disgusting and unflattering. That’s why you’re lonely and single.”

“Next time take a break from sex to answer the phone for a sec. It could have been a real emergency. Not that pizza isn’t—OUCH!”

Louis pinched Niall’s nipples. He’s about to throw a nasty comment back at his Irish weirdo-of-a-friend when Zayn intervenes. “I have backup grub, Nialler, relax.”

They join the other two in the living room. Harry and Liam are sitting side-by-side, controllers in hand, eyes glued to the screen. Liam plays for Real Madrid against Harry’s favorite team, Barcelona.

Louis sits to Harry’s left and pats his knee. “Alright?”

Harry nods, briefly placing a hand over Louis’. Though he’s concentrating on the game, trying to keep Liam away from his goal, Harry manages to throw a dirty look at Zayn who sits as far away as possible.

Liam notices the sudden tension in the room, thicker than frosting, and voices his concern just as Harry scores a goal on him. “What’s going on?”

“Who wants crisps and beer?” Zayn asks, avoiding Liam’s question.

“Is that really all you have?”           

Zayn rolls his eyes at Niall. “I have burgers too, Princess. I was saving those for later.”

Niall makes a wounded face. “Later should be now!”

Zayn chases Niall into the kitchen. Liam pauses the game and takes the opportunity to scoot closer to Harry. He repeats gently this time, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“He hung out with Tom Parker today,” Louis enlightens Liam. He gives his boyfriend a sheepish grin. It was just sort of starting to piss Louis off that Harry was being so mysterious about the day’s events, like it’s every day that he’s photographed with a member of their band’s biggest rivals. So maybe Louis has a right to force Harry to talk about it.

“We did not ‘hang out.’ It was more like a ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ type-of-thing.”

“All while walking very close to each other and smiling like morons.”

Harry sets down his controller on the coffee table rather roughly. Liam winces but otherwise remains quiet.

“Why are you doing that again? We talked about this already. It was _nothing_.”

“Then why didn’t you answer Liam’s question? Or Zayn’s?”

The younger boy groans and leans into Liam’s attempt at rubbing his back comfortingly. “You want to know what we talked about? Fine, okay. He was talking about some Twitter crap and then tomorrow’s movie premiere until we were spotted by a couple of fans. Afterward, I hesitated on walking out with him because I knew there would be paps lurking around Westfield. Nick realized it too. But. We couldn't shake him off so we all left together and then he fucking praised Take Me Home and admitted Little Things is nice.” He stops to take a breath and acknowledges Louis’ shocked expression. “Yeah, Louis, he fucking _complimented_ us. And we continued talking about their next album being in production and I listened because he's a fucking human being and I wasn’t going to leave him hanging because I’m not like _that_.”

 _Unlike you_ , Louis assumes Harry held back from saying.

Liam gasps throughout the outburst, letting his hand fall back to his lap. He’s probably not helping. It’s just that, he’s never heard Harry talk to Louis that way. Not with anger and frustration laced in his voice, not with the vehemence behind that last part. Louis opens and closes his mouth, clearly lost in a trance. His fingers twitch and so does his nose and Liam just knows Louis’ about to cry until…

Harry stands up and walks to the other side of the rec room. Clearly he’s not feeling very sentimental at the moment. Liam uncomfortably reaches for Louis this time and squeezes his arm. Either he’s trying to show support toward his friend or he’s preparing to hold him back from a fight. At this point, the three of them are uncertain of what’s going to happen next.  

Niall and Zayn return with a six-pack and two bowls of spicy crisps. They don’t immediately pick up on the tension, not like Liam did from the beginning. Niall plops down on Harry’s vacated seat, and stuffs a handful of crisps into his mouth.

Zayn passes Harry a beer on his way over to an arm chair. He doesn’t notice that Harry sets it down on a window sill. “How cute, you guys were waiting for us to get back,” Zayn coos when he sees they paused the game.

Niall guffaws. “One-to-zero? Li, how are you already losing to Harry? He barely got here!”

Liam gives both of them warning glances. They don’t catch on at first. Not until Louis voices Harry’s name in a strained tone.  
  
Harry turns to Louis. “You're supposed to have faith in me, are you not?”

Zayn pops open his beer but doesn’t drink from it. Niall chokes on his mouthful of crips. Liam pats his back.

“Hazza, I do,” Louis says quietly. His eyes are cast downward. Liam thinks he sees a tear roll down his face.

The other boys are frozen, scared to say anything that will further rile up Harry, especially because they have no clue what they just walked in on.

Well, Zayn has an idea.

“With your logic, I should only talk to people you approve of. You're still not okay with my friendship with Nick! He wants to be your friend, dammit! You disappear with Stan sometimes and _I_ never say shit because _I_ know he's your best friend. _I_ actually trust my boyfriend. Why can’t you do the same?”

Louis’ hands tighten into fists. Liam doesn’t react in time and because of his slackened grip on Louis’ arm, he can’t stop the boy from standing to match Harry’s stance. “I just said I _do_ trust you! And there you are, basically saying I’m a terrible boyfriend. You really think I’m that anal?”

Niall snickers. Zayn shushes him.

“That's not what I'm saying.” Harry takes a step closer to him. “I just wish you could trust me when I hang out with people who aren't you or the boys.” He motions around the room, waving his arms about because he can’t seem to find anything else to do with his limbs.

“It's them I don't trust! Like Grimshaw, he’s been all over you from the start. And then you go and act all friendly with the biggest twat of The Wanted.”

“I thought Max was the biggest twat?” Niall whispers to the others. Neither of them answers, too fixated on the argument going on in front of them.

“I think I'm capable enough to figure out who to hang out with. I don’t care if you don’t like them.”

Harry turns to leave but Louis grabs his hand. “Don't be mad at me.” 

The other doesn’t look back. He wiggles his hand out of Louis’ weak hold, heads for the hallway anyway.

Louis lets out an exasperated breath. “Hazza!”

Harry doesn’t stop for him. They all stare at each other when the front door slams.

“I'll talk to him,” Liam offers, getting up quickly. 

“He's never talked to me like that before.” Louis sinks down to the floor and folds his knees up to his chest. Liam looks to Niall and Zayn for help. Zayn mouths something at Niall who nods once and leaves with Liam.

Zayn kneels down in front of Louis. “Lou, you're not crying, are you?”

Louis looks up. His eyes are surprisingly dry. They’re not even watery anymore. “Shut up. I'm just shocked, that’s all.”

“That wasn’t your first fight with him, it’ll be all right.”

“But it's never been _like that_ , Zayn. He insinuated I'm a shitty boyfriend.” Zayn turns a deaf ear at the sound of Louis’ voice cracking.

“No, you twisted his words. Harry didn’t actually say that.”

“He might as well have.”

“He loves you too much to ever say something like that. Don't be a dolt.”

~ ~ ~

Liam and Niall catch up to Harry in the parking lot. He’s fishing in his pockets for something, his car keys, they suppose.

“Hey, where are you going?” Niall calls as they approach their friend who is standing stiffly by the driver’s side.

Harry holds up a key before shoving it into the keyhole. “I don't want Louis to know.” 

Liam and Niall exchange an alarmed look. “You rather keep it a secret? Doesn't that contradict the argument you just had?” 

The tallest boy struggles with opening his car door. “I'm going to Nick's. Happy?” 

“Are you sure you want to do that right now? Louis is genuinely sorry,” Liam speaks up. He can predict Louis’ probable reaction to knowing where Harry is headed. It won’t be pretty.

Harry's face softens a bit though the anger continues to seep through his words. “He should be.” He yanks the door open but Niall closes it on him.

“Ah, come on, you goof. Zayn hates The Wanted too, are you going to be mad at him as well?”

“That’s not the point. I’m just sick of tiptoeing around Louis sometimes. I tell him I’m going out with Nick, he pouts. I tell him I literally spoke to Tom about almost nothing, he throws a fit. What the fuck am I supposed to do? Seclude myself from other people just to please him? That’s not how healthy relationships should work.”

Niall moves away from Harry’s space to allow him access to the car. Liam raises an eyebrow at the lad and receives a shrug.

“If you’re going to Nick’s, mate, I guess that’s your choice. We can't stop you. Just keep in mind that this isn’t about pleasing Louis. I think it’s about our friend, _your_ _boyfriend_ , being insecure. Maybe you should try to find out what’s going on with that before you go and make things worse.”

Liam and Harry are surprised at Niall’s words, gawk at him for several seconds. He hardly ever gets into any of their business long enough to provide meaningful advice. Niall usually suggests they should use food to solve everything.

Harry looks down at his keys, his face impossible to read. “I'm afraid if I go back in there, we'll end up arguing again. I don’t want to say anything stupid.”

Other than what's already been said.

They watch Harry get in his car and before he drives off, he rolls down the window. “Can you guys make sure he’s okay?”

Liam nods. “Sure. What do you want us to tell Lou?”

“Tell him I said goodnight." 

“Shit, man,” Niall says as soon as Harry’s car disappears down the road. They prolong returning to Zayn’s flat, unsure of what state they’ll find Louis in. If he’s hurting, they’ll definitely hurt too. Louis’ always the life of the party, the optimistic fucker that doesn’t let people sulk when he’s around. But when he's upset, everyone's upset.

“Let’s hope Harry doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“I honestly think we should worry more about what Louis might do.”

“We’re not telling him he left to Nick’s, right Niall?”

~ ~ ~

“Goodnight? GOODNIGHT? Where is he going?”

Liam’s about to lie, no matter how much he hates lying to these boys, he thinks it’s best that Louis doesn’t know the truth.

“He went to Nick’s.”

“Niall!”

“Wow.” Zayn shakes his head.

“I just can’t stand seeing Louis upset, Li. Look how torn up he is!”

A second ago, Louis definitely looked torn up. He looked like he was going to spend the night crying himself to sleep. Because of Niall’s confession, however, he looks like a completely different person, one with a mischievous glow.

“Oh, so we’re going to play that game, are we?”

Liam panics at the change in Louis’ manner. He’s going to have a serious talk with Niall. But first he must distract Louis from whatever plans he’s formulating in his head.

“It’s nothing like that—”

Zayn interrupts Liam with a laugh. “What are you going to do about it, Louis?”

Fucking instigator, Zayn is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me over a month to update because I have ADD and stuff? Let me know what ya think so I know whether I should keep going with it or not?
> 
> Thank you for reading xxx


	4. grow some hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry comes home to bitter tea and a cold shoulder on the evening of the premiere.

He knocks harshly on a red door in the cold night. Harry tactlessly left his jacket at Zayn’s, having stormed out without a second thought. Nick isn’t answering his door. Harry shivers. Luckily he remembers where the bloke keeps his spare key: beneath the mat, like a true idiot. At least it keeps him out of the cold before his toes turn black.

Once inside, Harry forgets to put Nick’s key back in place. The house is so dark that Harry trips over a shoe and almost stabs himself to death with the piece of bronze clutched in his hand. Cursing out loud, Harry stumbles up the stairs to Nick’s bedroom, pocketing the offensive object. He finds the man—the so called _mature_ friend—sleeping in hideous swim trunks and bright pink flip flops. The room smells like tequila and tatter tots.

“Nick,” he tries, gently shaking his friend.

Not even a sound.

“Grimmyyyyyy,” Harry sing-songs.

Nick grunts and rolls away, giving Harry a view of his pale spine. “I didn’t order any tube socks. Go away.”

Harry suddenly isn’t inclined to wake Nick’s drunken ass up. He’ll deal with him in the morning. He settles for the fancy canapé by the window and falls asleep thinking about Louis’ eyelashes and Louis’ hands and how dumb Louis is at times. But, _Louis_.

~ ~ ~

It took them about an hour to tame Louis. They refused to let him leave Zayn’s apartment. They weren’t willing to him go without worrying he’d do something reckless. Well, Liam and Niall worried. Zayn sat back and watched his mates struggle with Louis, the ball of never-ending liveliness. Louis dozed off about twenty minutes ago, grew tired of wrestling about. Even though they’re certain he’s in a deep slumber, Liam doesn’t want to risk Louis sneaking off as soon as their backs are turned. As a result, he sets himself on top of Louis’ legs.

“He’s going to wake up sore. And annoyed."

“I don’t care, Niall. This is the only way to ensure he’ll stay put for the night.”

Zayn snorts. “I don’t see what the big deal is. Let the boy take action in a bit of revenge. He’s harmless.”

“Really, Zayn? He’s harmless?” Liam rolls his eyes. “Are you forgetting about the time he dumped all of Nick’s Armani suits down a sewer?”

Niall throws his head back to laugh. “I can't believe he hired a whole team to rescue his clothes. Nick bitched about it on his show for days.”

“He still talks about it once in a while,” Zayn points out. He’s an avid listener of The Breakfast Show. He usually takes Louis' side—Louis who refuses to listen to Nick’s musings unless Harry is scheduled to make an appearance—but Nick's radio show is quite entertaining.

“Harry took that event well, now that I think about it. He didn't blow up on Louis.”

“Louis distracted him with a really good blow job.”

Liam and Niall stare at their friend. He holds up his hands. “Louis has a big mouth and I have ears, okay?”

“Anyways...” Liam clears his throat. “I believe my point has been proven and if you two don’t mind, I’m going to spend the night on top of Louis’ legs so… sweet dreams.”

~ ~ ~

Niall was right. Louis does wake up sore. And annoyed.

He blinks into the early hours of dawn and tries to move but Liam doesn’t weigh like a fucking feather. Louis wriggles and grumbles for a good ten minutes. Finally, his unconscious friend rolls off of him and curls up in a ball on the carpeted floor.

Louis stretches and cracks his fingers. He scratches his stubble and ruffles his own hair, checks his phone last. Harry hasn’t called or texted, not even tweeted. Nick’s Twitter is of no help. His last update was about a craving for tatter tots and that was twelve hours ago.

Zayn and Niall are cuddled together on an inclined arm chair. Louis doesn’t question it as he passes by, throws a blanket over them and removes Niall's snapback from his head. He leaves Liam on the floor because he shouldn’t have slept on him and that’s what he gets.

Louis considers heading to Nick’s and thinks about popping his tires or stealing his mailbox but in all honestly, Louis’ really tired and would get it done halfheartedly. Also, he doesn’t want to keep fighting with Harry. Would rather not have affection denied to him and he’d be crazy to miss out on sex because of fucking Grimshaw.

Like a good, innocent being, Louis goes home. Harry’s car isn’t there, just like Louis expected. He barges into their flat and makes a large pot of tea.

~ ~ ~

It is one thing to wake up confused in someone else’s home, but it’s another thing to wake up aroused. Harry’s painfully hard and he doesn’t know what to do about it. He can’t have Nick notice because he’ll probably announce it on live radio as soon as he gets a chance.

How is it that they became friends? Harry can't rememeber.

Nick’s starting to stir. Harry panics, takes his shirt off, and wraps it around his waist. Not suspicious at all. If he hadn’t gone to bed thinking about Louis’ hands, though, he wouldn’t be having this problem under Nick's roof.

Nick yawns like a lazy cat. “Young Styles, what are you doing in my bedroom? And why is your shirt off? Not that I’m complaining.” He waggles his eyebrows.

“We had a fight.”

“Did we have hot make-up sex afterward? I don't remember anything. I think I had one too many shots last night.”

“When I got here you’d already knocked out.”

“That would explain the swim trunks.” Nick glances down at himself, cocks his head to the side. “Funny, I don’t even own a pool.”

Harry clears his throat because he wants to be pitied. “Louis and I had a fight.”

Nick yawns some more. “I’m so shocked.”

He’s not.

“I think he thinks that I think he’s a shitty boyfriend.”

“It’s way too early for this. Make me a triple shot espresso and then we’ll talk.”

After convincing Nick that no, it isn’t smart to drink hot liquid from a mug whilst lying flat on his back, Harry gives his older friend a rundown of last night. Nick raises his eyebrows and places his Santa mug on the nightstand.

“That boy of yours is one jealous—”

“Don’t say it—”

“Bastard.”

“Grimmy.” Harry has zero tolerance for when people badmouth his boyfriend. When they do it behind his back, fine, whatever, people do that shit all the time. But when they do it in his presence, it’s unacceptable. Nick knows this and genuinely apologizes.

“But it’s true. Unless the little Irish stud is right about Louis being insecure. Either way, I conclude that you made a huge mistake last night, Harold.”

 Harry narrows his eyes.

“Kid, why did you come here?”

“I was pissed off!”

Nick sips his drink quite calmly as opposed to Harry’s short outburst. “You’re just asking for him to retaliate. You already know how he feels about me.” And then he realizes something and nearly drops his Christmas-themed mug. “If Louis messes up any of my clothes again, I’ll have him locked away. You too! For provocation! And for that boner even your shirt can’t hide.”

~ ~ ~

“ _What are you wearing_?”

Louis smirks at his phone, in a much better mood after having gone through two pints of sherbet ice cream. “Payne? I think you’ve mistaken me for a sex hotline.”

“ _I mean, for tonight. For the premiere. You haven’t forgotten, have you_?”

“Of course not,” says the boy in worn joggers and a bare torso. He licks his spoon. “Don’t we have our stylist for that?”

“ _Caroline’s on holiday, Lou_.”

“Or right, right.” This is new information for Louis. “Maybe I’ll just skip out on tonight’s event all together.”

“ _You can’t, we already RSVP’d as a group_.”

“Who cares?”

“ _Some fans will be expecting to see us all there_.”

Louis can’t deny how true that statement is and he really hates disappointing people. But there are people he wants to avoid for a while. Or for life, whatever’s clever and more convenient.

Strange sounds are heard from Liam’s side of the line. He seems to be attempting to quiet someone down.

“Li, who’s attacking you? Give them a good smack for me.”

“ _Niall stop! Arg—Zayn_! _You too_?” Some cursing ensues followed by Niall’s breathless voice screaming into the receiver, “ _Lou, Lou! Did you hear from Harry yet_?”

“Nope.”

He doesn’t let on how wounded he is that Harry never came home last night or this morning. Louis made him a cup of tea which is still set on the kitchen counter. He waited for the sound of footsteps that never came. He waited and waited. Harry still hasn’t bothered to contact him. This feels so alien to be occurring in their relationship of two years. Sure, like Zayn said, they’ve fought before. And _sure_ , phones work both ways. Still, Louis feels his stomach clench every time he recalls Harry’s anger.

Liam texts him the color scheme that he and Zayn finally agreed on: burgundy, black, and white. Louis sets about finding a pair of burgundy skinny jeans that make his ass look incredible and a black turtle neck to cover the hickey Harry gave him yesterday. Just because he wants to do something nice, he picks out black dress pants and a black button-up with a white and burgundy tie to match. For Harry.

Louis showers early to have enough time to style his hair since apparently their hairdresser is out of town as well. He wanders around the flat dripping wet with a towel wrapped around his waist in search of his white Converse. Did he leave them at Niall’s? He jumps when he spots Harry leaning against the kitchen counter, knocking back the tea Louis made him.

Harry makes a face. “You forgot to add sugar.”

Louis gulps. He wasn’t ready to see Harry just yet even though he’d been waiting for him. His grip on the towel tightens. Harry looks him up and down appreciatively and smirks. “I suppose you’re not up for a quick round before we start getting ready for the premiere... Are you?”

His dick twitches at that but he’s too upset to let Harry convince him into fooling around.

“I laid out your outfit for tonight,” Louis says. He goes back upstairs to dry off. Harry doesn’t talk to him after that. He just showers and lets Louis use his blow dryer because Zayn borrowed his and never returned it.

Half an hour later Louis finds Harry huffing and puffing over his tie. The boy has never been able to properly do one up. Louis normally does it for him. Harry doesn’t ask for help but Louis wordlessly steps forward. He knocks away Harry’s hands and sets to work. It’s hard to concentrate with Harry being so close. Louis itches to yell at him and to find out what exactly happened at Nick’s but he keeps his mouth shut for once.

Paul and Alberto pick them up in a black SUV. The other three are already seated in the back row. That leaves the middle section for Harry and Louis. Harry takes the window seat and stares out of it. Louis leaves a seat empty between them and fiddles with his phone.

Niall sends him a cheeky text about his outfit. Louis turns around to blow him a kiss. Liam and Zayn, from either side of Niall, make retching noises. Harry doesn’t join in.

~ ~ ~

Before Harry went home, Nick advised him to fix things with Louis. And that was Harry’s plan. He recognized the sound of the shower upstairs and found a cup of tea in the kitchen. He knew it was for him. His chest constricted and squeezed the air out of him. It happened again when Louis bounded down the stairs with his wet, golden skin out for display. Harry meant to break the ice by saying something suggestive; actually thought Louis would enjoy it. Sadly, Louis looked at him as if he was shocked Harry was even talking to him. That’s why Harry left him to it. Not because he was still angry but because Louis looked so fucking dazed.

He put on what Louis laid out, struggled with the tie until Louis came to his rescue. His boyfriend avoided his eyes. Harry wanted to kiss him.

On the way over to Leicester Square for the London premiere of _Fast & Furious 6_, Harry sat quietly in his seat, waiting for Louis to start up a conversation. There was a very short distance between them. It felt very wrong. Louis continued to ignore him and everyone else until he blew a kiss at Niall. Harry tensed. No one noticed.

Now, as they pull up to the red carpet, Louis’ no longer quiet. He’s practically bouncing in his seat, making the other three jittery. He pretends that Harry isn’t there and fine, maybe Harry deserves it for disappearing last night and for half of today. Doesn’t mean it hurts any less.

“Alright boys,” Paul says as Alberto starts pulling up behind a limousine, “You have half an hour before the premiere. Go down the carpet for about fifteen minutes, stop for a few reporters, greet some fans, and stick together, please.”

“Yes sir!”

Paul turns in his seat to point at Zayn and Louis. “Especially you two.”

He lets them out of the van, Louis stepping out first. Harry is next and the screams just go wild.

“You’d think they’d be here for the actual actors in the movie,” Niall comments as he slots himself between Louis and Harry. Harry’s glad for the distraction because Louis' still ignoring his existence.

Niall has a point; the majority of the fans in the area seem to be there for One Direction with lots of posters and screams to prove it. Zayn and Liam exit the van next and Paul instructs them to pose for a bit. As if this was their first event. Paul is such a mother hen sometimes.

Afterward, Zayn, Louis, and Niall head for an _E! News_ reporter. 

Liam leans in to whisper to Harry, “You’re staring.”

He snaps out of it. Of course he's staring, Louis is wearing a great pair of skinny jeans. Liam ushers Harry forward so they can join the others. It goes on like that. Zayn tugs Louis along, Niall follows, Harry stares, and Liam reminds him they’re in public. Paul questions Harry once they get to the end of the carpet.

“Everything alright? You hardly smiled for the cameras.”

“I smiled at the fans, shouldn’t that be enough?”

Liam frowns at Harry and assures Paul he’ll handle it. Harry doesn’t want Liam to “handle it.” He wants Louis to fucking look at him. Or change out of those pants.

“Haz,” Liam mutters while the others are busy talking to Paul Walker, praising him for his work in other films. “Please stop being difficult. People are going to wonder what’s wrong. You didn’t answer any questions and you’ve been scowling at every camera.”

“I can’t help it.”

Liam frowns. “Did you and Louis fight again?”

“That would have been nice,” Harry jokes unenthusiastically. “He’s been giving me the cold shoulder since I got home.”

“He knows you were at Nick’s,” his friend admits guiltily.

“Who—”

“It doesn’t matter who told him. He would have figured it out on his own.”

Like earlier, Harry finds it hard to breathe. “ _I_ should be mad at _him_ , not the other way around.”

“I think you guys need to have a serious talk. No yelling this time. But the movie’s about to start so leave it for later, yeah? For now, try to pretend you want to be here…” Liam trails off. He directs his gaze to a place over Harry’s shoulder. Harry follows his line of sight.

Zayn seems to be arguing with Max George.

~ ~ ~

“You and Harry are melodramatic,” Zayn informs Louis after Paul Walker gets pulled away by his publicist. He needed to be seated with the rest of the cast.

“Fuck off.”

“I’m serious. You’re acting like he doesn’t exist and he’s over there sulking like a child. Just apologize and move on.”

"It's not that simple." Louis spares a swift glance at Harry who’s having a conversation with Liam a few feet to their left. “He looks fine,” he lies.

Niall laments. “You’re both making it really obvious that something happened and you know how the Larry Stylinson fans like to speculate and freak out.”

“They’ll assume we broke up, isn’t that what management wants? Single, attainable Harry Styles?”

Niall gapes at Louis, even Zayn.

“You don’t mean that.”

Zayn was going to add a line of wisdom before Max George approached them. Within seconds, Zayn’s eyes turned steely. Louis straightened his posture and forgot about their previous conversation.

“Evening boys,” Max greets them, gives an ironic curtsy.

“What do you want?” Zayn says through gritted teeth.

“Just wanted to say hello. I was already on my way in when the crowd went nuts. Had a feeling it was for you lot.”

Louis grabs a fistfull of Zayn’s blazer to stop him from getting closer to Max. They weren’t far from the cameras and eyes of the red carpet attendees. They couldn’t afford any such scandal. Modest! would chew them out. So would Paul who chose to disappear at the wrong moment.

“Bet you losers hardly got a cheer—”

“Let’s go find our seats, yeah?” Liam cuts in.

“Yeah, come on, Zayn," Louis adds. "Baldy must be feeling bold because of all the cameras. You want publicity? Grow some hair.” 

He has to physically drag Zayn away. To Louis’ astonishment, Harry aids him and together they get Zayn inside the theater. Although he’s wriggling under their hold, neither of them let go. Liam and Niall bring up the rear and Louis hears them wonder out loud where Paul got off to. Niall thought he heard their pal mutter something about Michelle Rodriguez’s dress before he went amiss.

“I’ll get Max after the screening,” Zayn intoned.

Harry spoke up for the first time this evening. “No you fucking won’t.”

“Glad to hear you still have a voice.”

“Guys, keep it cool, come on,” Niall whined.

Louis wants to thank Niall as they approach the entrance to where the movie is going to be screened. Paul meets them at the double doors and they all refrain from telling him about Max.

The place is packed inside. An usher leads them to their seats, weaves them around celebrities and critics. Niall stops to greet everyone.

“Friendly wanker,” Zayn remarks. He’s in a terrible mood and he’s bringing Louis down with him. Harry released Zayn a while ago, now sticks close to Liam.

They are given the seats just four rows behind the _Fast & Furious_ cast. Paul moves down the aisle to their designated seats. Niall and Liam go next. Louis panics when he realizes he’s going to be sat much closer to Harry than he’d like. Harry goes for the next seat. Louis thinks it’ll be fine, as long as Zayn sits in between them.

Who knows why but Zayn chooses this day to fuck with Louis by distracting Harry long enough to claim the seat beside Liam for himself. Harry just stands there dumbfounded, looks at Louis then back at Zayn. That means they'll have to sit next to each other.

Zayn sits there nonchalantly like the asshole he is.

“Styles!”

Whoever called out Harry’s name sounds overjoyed to see him. Louis searches for the source of the male voice. Bitch face set. Who he doesn’t expect to see is Tom fucking Parker coming up to _Louis_ ’ boyfriend from behind. Harry raises an eyebrow at Louis.

 _I fucking dare you, Styles_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be up very soon! I was going to post one big one but I felt I needed to cut it here. 
> 
> Hope it's ok~
> 
> xx 
> 
> :)


	5. like cheap wine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some running off. Some telling off. Some pissing off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been getting some lovely comments and I really want to thank y'all :')  
> much love xxx
> 
> And I'd like to admit that I've never attended a movie premiere so... lol... Sorry if the events described below aren't realistic?? It shouldn't really matter, right? For the sake of the storyline?

It’s not like Harry has a death wish. He doesn’t. But Louis’ being a prick. And Tom shouted his name in such a pleasant manner. He can’t help himself as he ignores Louis’ murderous glare to face Tom.

“Hey, Tom, you all right?” Harry gives him a winning smile, dimples and all. He almost reaches out to squeeze Tom’s shoulder. Almost. But he'd probably end up without a limb.

Tom looks past Harry for a second and then smiles back at him. “Good, good. Looks like our bands were given the same row to sit in.”

The wheels just keep turning in Harry’s head. “Oh really? Great! Sit with me.” If he said that loudly, then, well.

Okay, so maybe he’s playing it up just to spite Louis. Zayn too. But Harry doesn’t care at this point. He’s seeking a bit jive tonight to get some reaction out of Louis, to gain the upperhand. He turns back around to wink at him. He finds that his boyfriend isn’t standing in the same spot anymore. Louis' now sitting beside Zayn with his arms crossed and his lips pressed tight in a line. Harry pretends everything’s dandy and plops down on the empty seat beside Louis. Tom sits to Harry’s right. The rest of The Wanted take their seats. Nathan Sykes sits on the other side of Tom. Nathan leans over and offers a hand to Harry. Louis makes some weird sound from Harry’s left. He disregards the sound and shakes the hand.

No one acknowledges Louis. Harry isn't surprised.

Tom leans in a bit. “You going to the after party, Harry?”

He isn’t planning on it. “Are you?”

“We all are, right Nate?”

Nathan hums in agreement and turns to talk to Jay McGuiness.

“Maybe I’ll stick around, then.”

Tom grins just as the lights in the theater dim and the director stands in front of the screen to give a speech before the film starts. Harry settles back in his seat. To see what he’s reckoning with, Harry reaches for Louis’ thigh to squeeze it. Louis actually whacks his hand away and scoots closer to Zayn. This is definitely going to be fun, Harry decides.

~ ~ ~

“Our Harry is acting pretty brave tonight,” Zayn says in Louis’ ear. The opening credits start rolling. Louis migrated closer and closer to Zayn during the director’s spiel. By now, Louis is practically on Zayn's lap.

Louis can’t hide his scowl. He’s going to absolutely murder Harry later. Or maybe he’ll bleach all of his favorite blazers. Or wait for him to fall asleep and cut off all of his stupid hair. _Woah. Nope_. No matter how livid he is at the moment, nothing would ever push him far enough to messwith the curls he loves. He wouldn’t even do it to wipe off that annoying smirk that seems to be imprinted on Harry’s face.

Louis doesn’t miss when Harry leans over to Tom to whisper something in his ear or when Tom tries to contain a giggle after muttering something to Harry. They’re being fucking disrespectful and rude. The movie has already started.

Zayn pokes Louis and utters, “I’m so close to disowning him.”

Harry coughs that nervous type of cough that Louis identifies as fake. Louis would prefer to not look but he sneaks a peek and regrets it right away. Harry is handing Tom his phone and… _Are they exchanging numbers_? During the fucking movie?

He can’t stand sitting there any longer while Harry blatantly flirts with another boy. Let alone Tom Parker. His heart pounds unevenly as he gets up and excuses himself down the row. He passes Zayn who pokes him again. Louis makes a mental note to break his finger off. He trips over Liam’s feet and ignores the whispered, “ _Louis_?” Niall doesn’t make a move unlike Paul who grabs at Louis’ wrist to ask where he’s going. Louis isn’t able to avoid him. He walks away with Paul hot on his heel.

Out in the corridor, Louis takes a deep breath.

“Louis, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” he sputters, feeling as if he just ran up twenty flights of stairs. “Need to find the loo.”

“Over there,” Paul points. “If I go back inside, I can trust that you won’t run off, right?”

Louis nods because he can barely form a coherent sentence. He power walks to the restroom and splashes cold water on his face. The sensation in his chest is horrible, feels like suffocation. It does not subside. He splashes more water onto his face until someone clears their throat.

He’d checked under the stalls as soon as he entered—thought no one else would be willing to leave the movie. He assumes its Paul who entered without making a sound. Or possibly Liam. Completely doubts it being Harry. 

“Jesus Lou, watching you stumble out of there was awful.”

Louis meets Zayn’s eyes in the mirror and flips him off.

“Babe,” Zayn says, rubbing the small of Louis’ back. “We don’t have to go back in there.”

“Paul already warned me about running off.”

“He warned me, too. But see, we’ve never been the most obedient ones in the band.”

Zayn’s brilliant.

Louis takes a steady breath. “What do you suggest?”

“I say we crash that after party early and have a little fun _before_ everyone shows up.”

“See, I knew I loved you for a reason, Malik.”

“I’m the best fucking friend you’ll ever have, Lou, remember that.”

~ ~ ~

Ever since Louis exited the theater, Harry’s been glancing at the exit constantly. Paul came back without him. Then Zayn left and still hasn't returned. Harry just sat there uselessly and continues to do so. He wanted to run after Louis the moment the boy got up but he knew how idiotic that idea was. People would speculate. But he needed to know if Louis was okay. The only thing that’s keeping him a bit calm is the fact that Zayn probably isn't back because he's comforting Louis. 

Harry wants to take it all back. He regrets asking Tom to sit with him. He regrets whispering back and forth over little observations they were making. Seriously, that’s all they’d been communicating. He regrets passing his phone over to Tom, too. 

Someone takes Louis' seat. Liam.

“What did you do?”

Harry doesn’t answer. He can barely hear his own thoughts over the intense action scene going on in front of them, not that he’s actually paying attention.

“Harry.”

“He’ll be back.”

The people sitting behind them make shushing noises.

Liam lowers his voice significantly and presses closer to Harry’s side to whisper, “He's gone.”

“What?” Harry asks loudly, forgetting he's supposed to keep the volume at a minimum. The entire section sitting in front of them turn around to shoot him the dirtiest look that has Liam sinking down in his seat. 

“Paul and Niall are looking for them.”

How could Harry have missed that? He honestly didn’t catch when they’d left the theater, too busy worrying about Louis. What makes his stomach settle a bit is hte fact that Zayn's most likely with Louis.

“Something wrong?” Tom brushes his lips over Harry’s other ear. He feels the urge to swat him away. He’d made the terrible mistake in messing with both boys. Mostly, he cares about what it’d done to Louis. It was all a huge blunder.

 _Shit_.

~ ~ ~

Louis and Zayn come across the banquet room where the after party is being held, surprisingly in the same area as the premiere itself. It's not the regular reception that every guest is expected to attend, but the place where the cooler guests will retreat to once things get dull. There’s a stage and DJ table set up at one end and some snack tables at the other. Unlike the formal reception, this place isn’t filled with decorations and tables to dine at. There isn’t a podium set up for speeches either. Most of the empty space will likely be used for dancing as opposed to the much calmer atmosphere that will surround the other party.

They’d first found the formal reception; it was the most obvious one. It wasn’t far from the theater room itself. Zayn took one sneaky look inside while no one was watching the doors and proclaimed that it wasn’t their desired destination. It didn’t take long for them to stumble upon the location of the after party. The not-so-large, not-so-small, room is a little further off from the screening room. There aren’t people around, well, except for the guy setting up the turn tables. He brushes past Louis and Zayn, fist bumping the latter on his way out to his van. Louis raised an eyebrow at that. Zayn says the guy’s a friend of Niall’s.

While Niall’s friend takes the back exit to the parking lot, Zayn and Louis go straight for the snack tables. There are dozens of bottles of alcohol. Not even the fancy kind like the stuff Zayn spotted at the regular reception, the cheaper stuff that’ll get you drunk faster. Zayn pops open a bottle to take a swig, his throat burns. Louis holds out a hand for the bottle.

After that, there is no stopping them.

The misfits are down to the last bit of that one bottle when they realize the two-hour-long movie will be over soon. The boys received a bunch of texts and calls from Niall in the past hour. They all went ignored. Louis couldn’t find it in himself to care, especially when none of those texts and calls came from Harry.

The DJ had returned a while ago, saw them clearly getting buzzed off their bottle of wine. He didn’t say anything, set about to work on the speakers, instead.

Louis figures they ought to head back before Paul has sufficient time to find them and commit double-homocide with hardly any witnesses around. Niall’s friend proved to be useless in case of oncoming danger; he doesn’t seem to mind anything but his sound system. He hardly looks up when Louis runs around letting lose all the balloons lined up around the snack table. Zayn pops a few.

It’s Zayn’s idea to take a different path and cut right through the main reception. Waiters rush around as guests, they presume, filter out of the theater and head for the large room. Voices fill the hall. No one is being let in yet. The staff is too busy running about finishing last minute details that they don't notice the strays prancing right through.

Zayn locates a different exit where they’ll avoid the other guests outside. On their way, Louis stops to hastily cut out a huge slice right out of the center of a giant, rectangular cake. He uses his hands to place the vanilla slice on a silver dish.

“I hope the guests like bunt cake.”

Zayn doubles over laughing, clutching his stomach. “You cut out some of the wording. Look!”

Louis rearranges and alters the remaining red-frosted letters with Zayn peering over his shoulder.

“Perfect!”

“Excuse me, who let you two in?” A burly man in a tight uniform—part of the waiting staff—demands.

Zayn and Louis take off at a run, not before Louis ensures his slice of cake and Zayn stuffs an expensive bottle of wine under his blazer to make up for the crap they just drank. They make it to the vacant corridor just outside the room. To their bewilderment, the man didn’t chase after them. No one did because right when they ran out, people began filing inside the place through the main entry. Hopefully they weren't seen escaping like a couple of criminals.

Louis nibbles at his slice of cake. He didn't have time to get a spoon so he uses his fingers. Zayn struggles to open the bottle he snatched. 

“Give me a good reason to not take both of you home right now,” Paul announces. His face is red and his biceps flex. He came out of freaking nowhere. Louis and Zayn back away from him. Sure, they like to rebel more often than not. That doesn’t mean they don't get intimidated by Paul's size and authority now and again.

“There you are!” Liam exclaims, joining them in the corridor. Niall catches up to Liam and lets out a sigh of relief. Harry saunters over, slowly.

“Lou, how’d you manage to get cake already?” Niall eyes the plate in Louis’ hands. “The damn thing hasn’t even officially started!”

“Want some?” Louis winks.

Zayn tries to take a swig from his bottle—which he claims as his personal property because of the effort it took him to open it—Paul isn’t having any of it. He takes the wine and passes it to Liam. “Do me a favor and take this inside.”

Liam nods and Niall accompanies him.

Louis holds on to his rather delectable dish of perfection, tightly. Maybe if he offers Paul a taste...

“I specifically said not to run off," their head security guard starts.

“I dared them,” Harry explains.

Louis’ mouth flops open.

“No, you—”

Paul grumbles. “Guys, I know you’re young and sometimes you just want to have fun. I get it. But please refrain from doing so in settings like these. You could get the band bad publicity. What if you’d have gotten kicked out for this? And I don't even want to ask what you did to that cake, Tomlinson.”

He doesn't stop there, goes on and on about how irresponsible the three of them are. Harry didn't do anything, though.

~ ~ ~

“I can’t believe Paul lectured us for so long that we missed Vin Diesel’s speech!” Zayn complains as they eventually join the others inside the function. Louis shrugs, quite indifferent to the matter. And also, he’s fairly bitter about Paul making him throw away his slice of cake. It was really good cake. “Thanks for trying to cover for us, Haz. Sorry about uh—earlier.”

Harry nods at Zayn, matches the indifference that Louis displayed, and stalks off.

 _Back to square one_.

Zayn’s idea to sneak away worked as a distraction up until Harry fibbed to ease Paul’s irritation by distributing it onto three people. Louis’ chest went back to aching. He refuses to look in the direction in which Harry disappeared. Strangely, moments later, Harry’s returning with a determined energy he hasn’t shown all night. He signals for Louis to follow him out of the room. Liam doesn’t miss a beat and basically shoves Louis to trail after the boy. Louis bumps into Ludacris and apologizes profusely, telling him his name is Liam.

He finds Harry just beyond the entrance. They walk quietly down a different hallway, similar to the one where Paul scolded them like young children. It's empty as well.

“I saw what you did to the cake,” Harry breaks the silence. Louis’ breath hitches, this sounds… civil. He thought he was being led to his death for a second. “‘Thanks for all the hard cocks!’ Very creative, Lou. What did it say before? ‘Thanks for all the hard work’?”

Louis avoids the eyes that beg for contact and answers in a monotone voice, “Thanks for all the hard work, cast and crew.’”

They listen to each other respire for a short stretch of time, to their footsteps that create echos. Louis feels uncomfortable and really warm from the alcohol he’d already gulped down. The buzz was cut short by Paul although some of the effects are still milling about in his mind. He aches to rip off his turtle neck.

“Why won’t you look at me?” Harry inquires softly, like it’s a secret. “Lou,” he murmurs, “don’t be mad at me.”

Their eyes meet; Louis stops walking.

“That’s not fair. I said the same thing last night. You still left.”

Harry shakes his head. “I didn’t want to fight anymore.”

“That’s why you chose Nick over me?”

“Jesus, Lou. I didn’t _choose_ anyone over you.”

“What about Tom?”

“That’s nothing, absolutely nothing.”

"But you still think I'm a terrible boyfriend."

"Of course n—”

“I don’t bel—”

“Shut up,” Harry growls. He surges forward until his breath ghosts over Louis’ lips, drags a finger along his jaw. Harry maneuvers them over to the wall and lines their bodies up. Louis complies easily when Harry claims his mouth roughly, like they haven't kissed in days. Harry makes an internal sound of delight and _fuck_ , Louis’ seriously regretting his selection of fitted trousers. In a labored voice, Harry slurs: “You taste like cheap wine and cake.”

“Is that supposed to offend me?”

The taller boy ducks down for another kiss but Louis holds him back by about a foot. Harry’s eyes flash with hurt. Louis strokes his cheek gently to let him know that he isn’t pushing him away. “Someone might see us.”

Who knew Louis could be the responsible one (no matter how turned on he is) in heated moments like these?

Harry licks his lips. “Let’s go somewhere else, then.”

“I heard the after party is starting soon!” They both turn to see Nick Grimshaw bounding over to them. _He’s actually skipping_. Louis inwardly—and probably outwardly—groans. He forgot Nick was at the event. The lanky fellow slips an arm around Harry’s shoulders, making the fabric of his snug blazer stretch forcefully. “‘Bout time, too. I need some music to drown out Vin Diesel’s voice from my mind. Is it just me or does he sound like a nasally walrus?”

No one laughs.

Almost as if he barely realizes Louis’ presence, Nick lets his arm fall back to his side. “Lou-Lou, darling, you’re looking quite dashing tonight.”

Louis thinks about a hundred and one things he could do to Nick. And a hundred and two things he could do to Nick’s hair. However, the ideas aren’t appealing enough because of the way Harry’s eyeing his boyfriend with a cautious dread. Before acting upon impulse, as is custom, Louis considers the circumstances. He wants his feud with Harry to end, hates giving him the cold shoulder, and he really wants a good shag later on. If Louis so much as insults Nick, he suspects Harry will lose his cool again.

“You too,” Louis coughs out.

Nick’s eyes go impossibly wide. “Come again?”

Oh. He’s getting a kick out of this.

“Don’t push it,” Harry warns.

“I take it you haven’t fixed things yet.”

“To be frank, _Grimshaw_ , that’s none of your business,” Louis hisses.

“It was apparently my business when I found Harry on my couch this morning like a wounded puppy.”

Harry smacks his friend for his bluntness.

Louis’ whole being softens. The animosity he previously felt dissolves. A tender sensation overpowers his thought process, causing him to swallow all of his pride. He’s going to apologize for being a twat, for not treating Harry like the prince he is. He might even extend a hand of friendship to Nick. It's just that, the image of Harry sleeping on Nick's couch, does things to Louis' whole being.

That's why it’s on the tip of his tongue. All Louis has to say is one word to head for a clean slate—one where he can always keep Harry in a happy place. Louis can be selfless, believe it or not.

However, things don’t always go the way you plan. Not that it was much of a plan, to say sorry to Harry (...and Nick), it was more like it’s-the-right-thing-to-do-and-I-should-do-it-to-make-someone-else-happy type of thing. Maybe he waited too long to say it. Maybe his hesitation brought this on. Or the universe is simply out there to bite him in the ass. But whatever it may be, it’s got his mouth clamped tight and there’s no chance in hell “sorry” is going to slip from his mouth any time soon.

Because Tom’s there. He’s linking his arm with Harry and carting him off down the hall toward the location of the after party. Harry doesn’t let out a single squawk of protest, he’s giggling at something being said in his ear. Louis sees red, catches that little wink that Tom throws his way, and exercises his jaw muscles. Even Nick is stunned into silence and that’s saying a lot.

Things are about to change and Louis accepts it as his heartbeat picks up speed. So does his best talent: mischief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so /it/ begins.
> 
> heh heh 
> 
> I will update again within the next couple of days hopefully. Nathan will appear more in the next chapters and the story really just kicks off from here~
> 
> :)


	6. that was ballsy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis asks Zayn for help. Harry dances like a forty year-old. Everyone else is either pissed or entertained.

“I think you need a good pat on the back.”

Louis glares at Nick who in turn recoils. They were both stunned into silence when Harry left with Tom, watched the two of them head the opposite way like a couple... of friends.  The hallway is just too quiet for the two of them now; Nick longs to remove himself from the situation. Every time he tries to go, however, Louis’ face crumbles in a way that screams _don’t leave me alone_ _right now_. Just for a brief second. That’s all it takes for Nick to stay.

He’s not sure when him and Louis buried the hatchet between them, or if it’s even buried at all. This is definitely not part of their respective behavioral norms toward each other. Since day one, it was like they were thrown into a boxing ring. For the moment, neither of them has thrown a punch. Nick suspects he’s stuck in a dreamlike state that may turn into a night terror if he does or says the wrong thing. For the meantime, it seems that Louis’ keeping him captive because he strives for company.

“Are you keeping me captive because you strive for company?”

Nick’s indiscreet question snaps Louis out of the trance he’d fallen into. The shorter boy rubs at his face leisurely, sighing like it’s a difficult task to make clarifications. “I’m trying to figure out whether I should go for the kill or not.”

Nick shrieks in protest. “I didn’t do anything you crazy—”

“I wasn’t talking about you, moron.”

“Are you implying that you’re about to cheat on me? You’re going to run off and mess with someone else? Have these years of throwing shade and mockery meant _nothing_ to you?”

Fighting back a smirk—because he refuses to label it as a smile—Louis motions for Nick to follow him the way Harry and Tom went.

“If this is your way of asking me to dance—”

“Do you ever shut up, Nick?”

The man clutches at his chest like he’s been shot. “I’m a radio host,” he says as if that’s reason enough for his endless babble. Then he’s stumbling over his own feet. “Did you just call me by my first name?”

“Of course not—I,” Louis stutters to find an excuse, his face turning red.

“Don’t worry, kid, I won’t disclose this with anyone. We wouldn’t want people to get the wrong idea and assume, oh I can’t even say it but I’ll say it anyways. Friends! They’ll think we’ve become friends!”

“Harry wants us to be friends.”

They observe one another, to search for a flicker of hope, of friendship. If they laugh for the next ten minutes it’s only because the prospect of them being friends is as likely as Zayn going bald. Their amusement dies down when the walls surrounding them begin to thump. They approach the banquet room that Louis and Zayn found earlier. Niall’s DJ friend is blasting sick beats under colorful, flashing lights. People are dancing and attempting to carry their conversations over Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me.” Louis is relatively sure that Niall’s accent is singing into a microphone. Leave it to Niall to turn this into karaoke.

“So, what’s on our agenda?”

Louis crosses his arms. “Excuse me?”

“We’re playing Batman and Robin tonight, right? Tell me where you want me.”

He wrinkles his nose. “What the hell are you suggesting, exactly?”

“The kill you’re contemplating, on Harry and Tom.”

“How did you—”

“Please, Tomlinson, don’t insult my astuteness. Your face says it all,” Nick deadpans. “I’m offering up my services at a discounted price, you chump.”

“I don’t need your services, Coleslaw.”

~ ~ ~

Liam runs straight to Louis as soon as he shows up to the party. Nick is striding impossibly close to him. Howbeit, the main reason that has Liam freaking out is the entrance that Harry made. Right away he knew something had gone wrong when the boyfriends went for a walk.

He grabs Louis’ wrist. “We need to talk.”

Louis shakes out of his hold. “Not now, Liam. I need to find Zayn. Break up with me later.”

And he’s gone, just like that.

Nick advances toward Liam, a bit awkwardly, though not very hesitant. There’s never been tension between them. Liam greets him respectfully.

“I think our young Harry is in for a show.”

Hell. Liam isn’t looking forward to it.

~ ~ ~

“Zayn, you wanker, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Louis doesn’t give the boy time to react, taking him over to a secluded corner by the arm. He’d nearly gone around the whole room in pursuit of the raven-haired boy.

“Harry’s in here with Tom,” Zayn grits out, points to his left.

Louis doesn’t want to look. He’ll puke if he has to watch his boyfriend act friendly with that grade-A prick.

He looks anyways because he’s become a masochist.

Harry’s smiling. And laughing. And dancing like a forty-year old man who never properly learned to do the act. It should be illegal for him to still look adorable whilst making a fool out of himself. Tom’s there too, dancing. He doesn’t look as clueless, dances half as good as Liam.

“Wow,” Zayn mutters, “What the fuck is Styles doing?”

“That’s why I came looking for you. I need your help.”

“Anything, babe.”

If Louis wasn’t so caught up in wanting to execute his plan, he’d snog Zayn without a second thought.

“Hook me up with someone.”

Zayn’s already shaking his head before Louis completes his demand. “No way, I’m not going to help you cheat on Harry.”

“All I’’ be doing is dancing. You know I would never cheat on that idiot.” Louis’ starting to rethink his choice in ally.

“Only dancing?”

“Zayn, since when do you question reckless conduct?”

~ ~ ~

He waits for his friend over by a snack table where a bunch of popped balloon material litters the floor. That would be Zayn’s doing. Speaking of which, it’s taking the bloke an awfully long time to get his part of the plan done. It’s not really a plan, per se. Can’t really be categorized as this is only the beginning of what Louis thinks will be a long operation.

Centuries later, Zayn returns with his hands behind his back. He beams impishly at Louis. “Lou, I found the right candidate for the deed.”

Louis gives him a light punch in the arm. “Don’t say ‘deed’, it sounds like—”

“Hey there,” a grinning Nathan Sykes walks up from behind Zayn. He takes in Louis’ closed off expression and looks between the two boys. “Is this a bad time?”

Louis opens his mouth to say—to _scream_ that _yes, this is a fucking bad time_. But his asshole of a friend, Zayn, beats him with a different line. “Louis was just hoping someone would be willing to go for a dance, if you can’t tell by that startled look on his face.”

Nathan raises an eyebrow. “You said he had something to tell me.”

“Yeah, he does. Don’t you, Lou?”

 _Fuck no_.

He’s going to add Zayn’s name to the list of people he needs to annihilate before he sunset tomorrow. Zayn is completely mental if he thinks Louis is going to sink as low as asking Nathan to dance with him. He’s not _that_ desperate to carry out his idea. All he wanted was to use a random nobody to make Harry jealous. That was the one task he gave Zayn. Not for him to round-up one of the damn members of the Unwanted. Unsolicited. Uninvited. Undesirable. Unwelcome.

Zayn directs a stern look at Louis, goes unseen by Nathan who is patiently waiting for Louis to speak. That’s the thing about the lad: he’s quiet. Not literally. More like, Nathan doesn’t say much when it comes to the feuds the others partake in. Well, one time Louis promised him a date after arguing with him over something unimportant but that was hardly a joke any of them would ever take seriously, let’s be real.

“I have nothing to s…” Louis stems away from the inconvenient conversation. He wouldn’t do that unless something had caught his attention. Something like Tom leaning really fucking close to Harry over on the dance floor. Louis isn’t sure what’s going on but he doesn’t like it at all. His blood boils and he hates how Harry doesn’t show any sign of refusal. He’s got Zayn shaking his head, having witnessed the same scene. Screw it, Louis can set all of his inhibitions on fire for the time being. “Dance with me.”

“Wait, what?” Nathan stammers. He’d been prepared for Louis to tell him to piss off, clearly.

After getting a nod of approval from Zayn, Louis takes Nathan’s hand and leads him into the crowd of bodies grinding and twerking about. He feels Nathan’s hand perspiring against his and it takes a deep exhalation for Louis to remind himself that it’s too late to rewind. What’s done is done and he’s already turning around to face the other boy.

Concern clouds Nathan’s eyes; he’s thoroughly muddled. Louis doesn’t blame him because all he keeps asking himself is whether this is really going to happen? He thinks _yes_ when a couple shimmies a bit too closely to them, causing Nathan to stumble into Louis’ arms. They stay like that, trying to assess what’s just happened. For some reason, neither one of them realizes that Louis’ holding Nathan from around the waist which kept him from falling over.

Then Louis hears Niall speak into the microphone like he did a while ago. He says something about Tyrese Gibson doing the moonwalk and something about his bud, Louis Tomlinson, accepting a challenge.

Wait.

~ ~ ~

They’ve been dancing since they walked in, only stopping for a minute to get drinks. The wine Tom served them tasted like the stuff that Louis’ tongue had revealed. Harry thought he preferred it better when he’d been kissing Louis. Much better.

Tom’s explanation for pulling Harry away from Louis was that he thought they were on the verge of getting into a bad fist fight. The prospect of such a thing had Harry laughing right away. He would never engage in a physical fight with that boy. Nothing between them could ever lead to that.

But, shit, Harry left him in that hallway alone with Nick.

Somehow Harry copes with accepting the fact that Louis isn’t going to be happy about any of this. He sucks it up in order to enjoy the music and Tom’s pretty impressive moves for the meantime. At one point he’s aware of Tom moving in a bit too closely like he had in the movie theater. Harry shakes his head and puts some distance between them.

Harry is in the middle of coming up with the most embarrassing move he can think of when an Irish accent interrupts Pitbull’s current track.

“Hey! Everyone catching Tyrese busting the moonwalk out in the center? Maybe my bud, Louis Tomlinson, is up for a challenge!”

The music goes back to normal as heads turn in search of Tyrese and Louis. Harry’s eyes search quickly. He hadn’t seen Louis anywhere near the dance floor. Wasn’t even aware that he’d shown up.

Tom starts, having spotted Louis amongst the crowd first and directing Harry’s gaze over to the right place, “What the—”

“Fuck?” Harry finishes.

Harry stares at Louis. At how his back is arched like the body of a sculpted Greek God and his arms wrapped around Nathan Sykes. He does a double take. Louis wouldn’t go anywhere near Tom or his band mates by choice, let alone on a dance floor with full-on physical contact in the view of dozens of people. That can’t be Louis, then. Tom is mistaken, _must_ be mistaken.

~ ~ ~

“Sorry, sorry,” Nathan says, scrambling out of Louis’ arms. He’s the first to recall the use of his limbs.

People are staring. Louis thinks he sees a few camera flashes go off but he’s too annoyed to care. He forgot Zayn’s other part in the plan and didn’t think he’d do it right when Louis found himself in a bit of a compromising situation. Zayn was supposed to get Niall to speak into the microphone, since he became the unofficial assistant DJ, to prompt all the attention onto Louis. Granting that Zayn would do his part commendably, Louis hadn’t expected for Niall to execute it so well.

Louis thinks that perchance he got way more than what he bargained for. The point was to get Harry to see him dancing with some random person. The part that wasn’t meant to happen was for Harry to see him holding Nathan Fucking Sykes in his arms. It wasn’t meant to go that way. Nevertheless, it’s got Harry turning a shade of pink that Louis has never seen, peripheral vision and all.

Nathan’s apologizing again. Louis shrugs it off. “No harm done.”

“People saw that.” Nathan gestures over to where Harry is. “Harry saw that.”

“I don’t care. Can we dance?”

“Don’t you and Harry have something going on?”

Louis loses footing for a beat. He’d barely started bobbing his head and moving his hips to the music. Nathan’s looking a little too closely at him and it’s a good thing Louis loved drama class in high school. He continues dancing and turns on a façade.

“Have you been buying into those Larry Stylinson rumors, too?” For good measure, Louis chuckles like he actually feels bad for him.

Nathan blinks. “There’s nothing going on, then?”

“We’re good mates.”

That seems to reassure Nathan about whatever it is they’re doing. He shrugs like it doesn’t matter anyway and matches the speed of Louis’ movements. Louis turns them around a bit until he has a better view of Harry. The boy is standing alone, no longer swaying to the music, just standing there. His mouth is parted and his eyes are burning a hole at the back of Nathan’s head.

Louis moves in a bit closer to his dance partner and basks in the feeling of Harry getting what he’s had coming to him all night. Just to hit another nerve, Louis places his hands on Nathan’s shoulders. The boy, about the same age as Harry, blushes. Louis thinks that this might be the best idea he’s ever had. Well, Zayn’s best idea (whatever his intentions were).

The kid is proving to be an all right guy, unlike the rest of his band. He’s even hesitant with the placement of his hands. Louis does the work for him, guides those hands to his waist.

Oh, Harry must be loving this. By the time Louis looks over to confirm his asumption, he spots the back of Harry’s head disappearing within the crowd. Louis meets Zayn’s eyes over by the DJ stand. Zayn nods once then reverts back to Niall.

~ ~ ~

“I did not sign up for that!”

Zayn rolls his eyes at Niall. “Collateral damage, Ni.”

“Who? Me or Harry?” For once in his life, Niall is displaying a morsel of fury. This is new.

“Harry will be fine. He just needed a little nudge, that’s all.”

The blonde boy widens his eyes in disbelief. “By having him see Louis with another guy? And I’m not going to even ask if that was Sykes because it looked a lot like him from over here.”

“Perfect, wasn’t it?” Zayn titters. “Harry asked for it. The way he’s been with Tom today, it’s not right. He knows we can’t stand those guys.”

“Set aside whatever hatred you have for Tom—”

“I think I hate Max more.”

Niall sets up a Lady Gaga and Ke$ha mash-up to play next since his friend asked him to take over for a bit. “It doesn’t matter!” He yells over the music which he turns up louder. “What I’m trying to get at is how fucked up this is going to get. You know it won’t end well. I hope Louis isn’t planning to keep it going.”

“With Sykes? Who knows… he might be the right one.”

Groaning at Zayn’s ambiguous answer, Niall asks, “For what exactly?”

“Ni, you sound a lot like Liam. It’s nothing to freak out over.” Avoiding the question is the only way he’ll get things done. He leaves the DJ stand much to Niall’s objections. As if Zayn would be willing to sit through another grilling.

Forget Louis’ plan, Zayn has a better one.

~ ~ ~

“That was ballsy,” Nick comments.

Liam is so, so confused. Should he laugh? Because Louis is dancing with Nathan of all people? Where in his head will that information ever fit? Nowhere.

“I had a feeling he was going to do something like that.” Nick recounts what happened in the hallway and how Louis looked lost in thought, like he was planning something in his head. “And now I see why he didn’t want my help. Sykes was a much better candidate.”

“You seriously offered to help him?”

“I was hoping I could get in on a little action. This evening has been such a drag.”

“You were willing to go behind Harry’s back out of pure boredom.”

“Not exactly, I mostly just wanted to get a laugh out of it. If Louis would have used me instead of little Nathan, the whole situation would have been hilarious. Think about it.”

Liam can’t deny that. He thinks that maybe Harry wouldn’t have minded if it had gone that way. Speak of the devil, he sees him heading for the exit with a grim expression. Liam moves to follow Harry, Nick holds a hand out.

“I’ll get him. You go figure things out with your mates.”

“Um—okay—thanks. Text me later?”

“I’ll snag your number from Harry’s phone. Toodles!” Nick speeds off their Harry.

Liam tries to recover from what he learned and curses the moment Harry ran into Tom at the mall. He just knows that the ground the band stands on is shifting and if he doesn’t do anything to stop it; they’ll all suffer from it.

“What the hell is Tomlinson doing?”

Liam is approached by Max and Jay. They’re fuming. He glances over at the dance floor.

“Um—dancing?”

Max narrows his eyes and points toward the dance floor. “Why is he dancing with our mate?”

“Why is Sykes dancing with _my_ mate?” Liam counters. He has no clue how to get out of this. After talking to Nick, he has an understanding of what’s going on but that’s not something he’ll ever disclose with these guys. It’ll only make the tension between their bands wear thin.

“Look, Payne, let me make this easy,” Max says. He moves in a bit to ensure that Liam can hear him over the Gangnam Style remix that has a lot of people shouting. “You tell your friend to stay away from ours or—”

Fuck that. “I think you should worry more about Parker.”

“He’s taken a bit of a liking in Styles. Doesn’t mean Tomlinson should—”

Someone pulls Liam away to put some space between him and Max. It’s Zayn. He tells Liam to stay put and turns to the bald man. “Liam has no part in this so leave him out of it.”

Jay finally speaks up. “Tell Tomlinson to leave Nate alone.”

“Maybe you should tell Sykes the same thing. I just saw him leave this joint with Louis on his own account.”

Liam somehow has a feeling that Zayn isn’t bluffing.

~ ~ ~

Louis and Nathan stumble out into the parking lot. They duck behind cars to avoid being spotted by the paparazzi waiting across the street. They try to make as minimal noise as possible. Louis peers around the side of a car and makes a signal for the other to stay put. Nathan obeys until he receives a different indication.

“I feel like we’re in a James Bond movie.”

Louis leers at him. “I’m an expert at being sneaky.”

“My mates don’t usually feel the need to hide from paps.”

 _Of course not_ , Louis thinks to himself, they love appearing in magazines and on Twitter and anywhere else really. While The Wanted do everything they can to make themselves relevant in the media, the One Direction boys don’t make much of an effort. Somehow their pictures are always circling around and people are always talking about them. Louis doesn’t always like the attention but fame comes with a price.

He dashes behind a large pick-up truck and waits for Nathan to join him. Nathan pulls his phone out. “Crap, I have a bunch of missed calls from Jay.”

“Ignore them,” Louis says. He places a hand over Nathan’s. “Call us a cab, yeah?”

“Oh—okay. I just—I need to know something, Louis.”

Louis waits.

“Why did you ask me to dance with you? You could have asked anyone in there.”

 _Because I hate Tom and I hate seeing him with Harry_. _You weren’t even on my list of options, this was all Zayn’s doing_. A tight knot forms in Louis’ stomach. “I heard you’re different and I wanted to see that for myself.”

Nathan worries his lip. “What do you mean by different?”

Louis’ throat constricts. This shit wasn’t part of the plan. How much more bullshit is he going to have to fabricate? “You’re likeable.” He runs off to duck by the side of a dark van, leaving Nathan to follow in his wake, a bit glassy eyed and keen.

~ ~ ~

“Styles! Wait for a minute, will ya? My lungs are going to collapse!” Nick fans himself. “Grease monkey, why is it so hot out here?” He nitpicks between heavy breaths.

Harry stops for his friend even if he’s in a rush to get away from there. They recently made it past the fans and paparazzi waiting outside of the theater. Paul escorted them all the way to the next block over and instructed Harry to wait for Alberto to pull up with the car. He sort of ignored Paul and took off at a run with Nick shouting after him. Nick isn’t much of a runner, now he’s panting and sounds like he’ll collapse if they keep going.

“Did you fucking see Louis? He was… I can’t believe he would do that to me,” Harry pounds his fist on a light post to drown out the crack in his voice. The pain in his hand doesn’t compare to the jumbled up feelings inside him. His heart’s protesting loudly in his ears, more so than Nick’s moans.

“Were you not doing that with Tom?” Nick’s still out of breath. He rubs his thighs. “Why am I so out of shape?”

“We were just dancing!”

“So was Louis…”

“Since when do you defend Louis’ actions?” Harry didn’t mean to yell.

“I’m only stating facts,” Nick articulates around strenuous exhalations. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like for you to call up this Alberto character and tell him to pick us up from here and take us home. I need a dip in the pool.”

“You don’t have a pool.”

“Then why do I own swim trunks?”

~ ~ ~

Louis and Nathan catch their cab. It pulls up in front of Harry and Louis’ shared flat half an hour later. On the way, Louis had received a message from Liam saying Harry was staying over at Nick’s for the night. It didn’t bother Louis as much this time around. He realized that Nick was no longer a threat, never was in the first place. He can’t believe it took him so long to figure that out.

Besides, Tom is the real threat now.

He reaches for the door handle, is stopped by Nathan, and forced to duck down.

“Why are we—”

“I just saw a man with a camera!”

Louis breaks out in a cold sweat. Why was there paparazzi waiting outside his flat? Were they expecting him to show up with someone other than Harry? Something like this hasn’t transpired in quite a while. The paps have been respecting their private home lives lately. What’s changed?

He can’t get out of the cab. If they see who he’s with and photograph him…

Nathan gives an address to the cab driver that Louis doesn’t recognize. It’s not far from where they are and the driver takes off down the road with the boys still ducking in the back seat.

“Where are we going?”

“My place, hope you don’t mind. I live close by. Paps haven’t figured out the location—not that they’d really care—so you won’t have to worry about being seen with me.”

So they’re going to Nathan’s house? Louis isn’t sure why he can’t bring himself to mind the prospect, figures it won’t be all that bad. Harry won’t notice since he’s not coming home tonight. There’s nothing to worry about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I didn't drag out the premiere stuff for too long :s
> 
> The next chapter will be up next week. :)
> 
> p.s i love my readers ;___;
> 
> xx


	7. missing a shoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis loses a shoe and cuddles with a hairless alien. Nathan admits something. Harry wants an explanation but then doesn't. Louis gives it to him either way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried so hard to get this update out sooner but it took longer than sooner but now it's here and yay.  
> I was working on the last part of this chapter when I heard about Cory Montheith. :'(

Nick strolls around his house in swim trunks. He was disappointed to find that he, in fact, does not own a pool. Harry isn’t going to even ask.

They sit at the kitchen table waiting for the water in the kettle to boil. Harry contemplates going to sleep. To forget about what he did at the party… what he _saw_ at the party. His mind won’t stop with the thoughts and the anger and the _Louis_.

There’s never a dull moment when Nick’s around. He attempts to entertain his friend with a story about how his coworkers locked him in a storage closet and stripped him of his pants. Harry only stares at his hands, clenching and unclenching them, throughout the telling of the story. Normally he’d join in the amusement that fills Nick’s voice when he gets to the part where Nick escaped and locked everyone in the same closet.

“Harry.”

“Grimmy?”

“You okay?”

Harry releases a shaky breath. “I don’t know.”

“Louis was trying to make you jealous. You know, like an episode of any teenage show, really. Like that Degrassi mess Drake was in.” Harry chuckles dryly. “Honestly, kid, I think you should talk to him.”

“Already tried that.”

“Keep your hormones out of it this time.”

Blushing, Harry covers his face with both hands. “How did you know?”

“Oh, come on, both you and Tomlinson think I have the IQ of a seagull.” Nick scoffs, genuinely offended.

“We only snogged.”

“Pfft. Why do you think I interrupted? I knew you hadn’t done much talking and of course you weren’t going anywhere near that responsibility, were you? I heard you mention getting a room, you dog.”

Uncovering his face, Harry grins sheepishly. “I can’t help myself with him.” Nick raises an eyebrow in a cheeky taunt and Harry’s quick to clarify. “It’s not that—not only the physical stuff. It’s what he means to me, like what it feels like when I see him. Since we got together, before we hit it big as a band, he meant everything to me. None of that has changed. He still makes me nervous and he may piss me off at times but… Grimmy, I love him. A lot.”

Nick pats his hands. “This is so sweet I think I’m going to tear up if you don’t wrap this up quickly and go home to him.”

“I hated sleeping without him last night and I don’t want to do that again.”

“Go home, kid. Keep it in your pants until it’s all sorted, yeah?”

Harry wipes at his eyes, wasn’t even aware he was crying. He’s going to fix whatever’s been broken between him and that boy and it’s all thanks to Nick. Sometimes, Harry questions his friendship with Nick but it’s occasions like these when he realizes how lucky he is to have an older friend that knows how to knock sense into him (even if Nick is a bit pushy with his advice). Harry chuckles lightly. “Yeah.”

~ ~ ~

“Louis?”

Harry kicks off his shoes and stuffs them in the hallway closet. He learned—from tripping over Nick’s the night before—that shoes do not belong in the middle of a walkway. He flicks the light on in the living room, to make sure he doesn’t stumble over anything else. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the brightness, to the fact that Louis’ keys aren’t sitting in the metal dish by the door.

“Lou?”

There’s no Louis waiting on the couch. He makes his way upstairs to their bedroom. It’s empty. He checks the other rooms and also finds them unoccupied. Louis isn’t home, that much is evident, as if the absent keys didn’t instantly give it away. But to make sure, Harry goes back down to the first floor and peeks into the kitchen. There isn’t a cup of tea waiting for him this time. The kettle is sitting in the sink. It’s confirmed then, definitely no Louis here. Harry’s stomach twists unpleasantly, hadn’t expected to get home before Louis. He’d been hoping that they could sort everything out before the morning.

If Harry has to sleep alone again, he’ll hardly get any sleep at all. He’s not even tired.

He sets up camp on the couch to watch Dexter, will wait for Louis to make an appearance and join him. They’re going to talk about this like two adults, with or without their current obsession serving as background noise.

More than an hour passes and still, no boyfriend.

“ _Harry_?” Liam shouts into the phone.

“Any louder, Payne?” Harry smiles weakly. It sounds like Liam’s struggling if the haggard breaths are anything to go by. “Hey, are you still at the Leicester?”

“ _I’m attempting to drag Zayn and Niall out of here so, yes, I am_.”

“Sorry you’re on your own with that,” Harry says, frowning about Liam having to deal with their intoxicated friends.

“ _Paul is here; it’s not_ too _bad_. _We’re just hoping Zayn doesn’t try to run off again before Alberto pulls up with the car_.”

“Wouldn’t want that... And is uh—what about Louis? Is he there with you?” Liam’s silence has Harry drawing back a breath. Not a good silence. “Please tell me, Li.”

His friend sighs like he really doesn’t know how he ended up in this state of affairs. “ _Louis left a while ago, mate_.”

“Oh.” Harry’s heart drops. If Louis left already… why isn’t he home yet? That doesn’t make any sense. “He’s not here.”

“ _Where_?”

“Home. Where he should be.”

A nervous laugh slips by Liam’s lips. “ _He bolted. I lost track of him when I was a bit occupied with Zayn wanting to beat the shit out of Max.”_

“I’m not surprised.” He really isn’t. “You haven’t any idea where Lou went?”

 _“Zayn might know but he’s slurring at this point and I can’t understand a word he’s saying_.” At that moment, Liam seems to struggle with keeping his phone in place. “ _Niall, don’t touch that! You’re going to break it!_ _Haz, I’ll call you back.”_

“It’s fine, I’m going to bed anyways.” Harry hangs up and dumps his phone on the center table. He’s nowhere near the brink of sleep and not entirely in the mood for resting.

If he sinks down to Louis’ level at this point, it’s merely out of curiosity. And worry too, of course. He goes on Twitter: the number one source for finding out unpleasant news. There isn’t much to go off of except for someone having spread the word that Louis was seen dancing with the presumed to be Nathan Sykes. Well, they’re right about something _. For once_ , Harry muses. Not that he fancies the truth behind the rumor.

He refreshes his timeline various times over the span of who knows how long. He checks his mentions, regrets it right away. Some Larry believers are going nuts, asking if he and Louis are broken up. Others are telling Harry he deserves better because from what it seems, Louis is cheating on him. Louis wouldn’t do that to Harry and it makes him angry that some would be so willing to believe such a thing from one little dance with Nathan.

And then it happens; a bunch of fans that Harry follows go on a retweeting spree. He’s subjected to numerous blurry photos of Louis getting into a taxi at the south end of the Leicester Theatre. With a person that isn’t Liam. Or Niall. Or Zayn. Harry figures out who the mystery guy is straight away, has seen him too many times to not recognize his profile.

Louis has a shit ton to explain why he got in a cab with Nathan.

~ ~ ~

“Shit, shit, shit,” Louis repeats over and over as soon as his head’s clear and his eyes are open. It’s morning. A moment ago he was cuddling with a grotesque cat under a yellow blanket and the next he’s stumbling around in search of his shoes. He’s not sure where he left them and is not sure where he is. This is definitely someone else’s home. Given the checkered drapes and tan colored walls, he’d say the interior designer must have been blind.

Louis spots one of his shoes. He views the pictures that are arranged for display above the fireplace as he jams his foot into the only white Converse in the room. About ninety-five percent of those photographs involve at least one member of The Unwanted.

 _Oh._ Nathan _. Right._

One particular photo catches his attention. It’s a funny shot of 16 year old Nathan being harassed by Siva and Jay. Siva has him in a headlock and Jay is holding him up like a rag doll. The look on Nathan’s face is priceless, extremely derpy, and Louis takes the opportunity to snap a picture of it with his phone.

He recalls now, being half asleep by the time they arrived at Nathan’s pad. Louis claimed the couch without a formal invitation to do so. His tired eyes felt Harry. Heavy! They felt heavy. They drooped sleepily and before he knew it, he’d fallen into the land of night terrors where he dreamt about coleslaw. All that planning and drinking had made him quite delirious.

Nathan must have thrown the yellow blanket over Louis after he knocked out. How thoughtful. Louis thinks he’s going to be sick. In search of the bathroom, he almost trips over the stupid cat. It doesn’t have any fur and its face is diamond-shaped and ugly-looking. Louis wonders if Nathan keeps it out of pity. He sure wouldn’t let Harry bring a thing like that into their home. _Harry_. There’s a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that tells him he should get home sooner rather than later—just after he’s found the restroom. The monstrous cat rubs against his ankles. It tempts him to kick it out of the way. His ankles don’t cuddle with hairless things.

“Lulu! Stop that!”

Louis turns his head so fast he can feel whiplash creeping up to him. He narrows his eyes at Nathan who appears to be wide awake. Only one other person refers to Louis as Lou-Lou and that person isn’t exactly his best acquaintance.

“My cat,” Nathan explains, taking in Louis’ superior posture. “Her name’s Lulu.”

Well, that’s nice.

“Where did her hair go?”

“She’s a Sphynx.”

Like it concerns him, honestly? It could be a Mutu for all he cares.

“Cool. Uh, where’s the toilet?”

“End of the hall. There’s a pack of unused toothbrushes in the cabinet below the sink.”

“Fantastic.”

Louis shuts the bathroom door behind him and turns the faucet on a tad. He dials Zayn and waits. When Zayn’s sleepy voice grunts a salutation, Louis flushes the toilet so he can speak.

“ _This better be important, Tommo_.”

“Zayn, I’m at Nathan’s.” Louis tries his best to keep his voice down as an extra caution.

“ _SYKES_?”

“Do we know any other Nathans?”

“ _You spent the night with him_?” Zayn sounds so outraged it’s a pity Louis can’t see his face. The guy is hungover so it must be a sight.

Louis studies his reflection, the dark circles under his eyes and his disheveled hair. It looks like he tumbled out of a moving vehicle in his sleep. “Yeah—I mean, no. I slept on the couch, don’t get ahead of yourself.” He turns the faucet back on just to make it sound like he’s actually doing something.

“ _Lou, what the fuck_. _Did any paps see you_?”

His heart jumps. “I hope not.”

“ _Last night_ _I kept checking Twitter for an update until I was too drunk to tell the difference between my phone and a dick_.”

“Okay, I didn’t need to know that.”

Lulu, the damn alien-looking thing, scratches at the other side of the door. It meows in the most high-pitched tone Louis’ ever heard.

“ _Don’t you hate cats_?”

Louis hangs up on his best friend. He’ll deal with him later. But then he remembers the reason why he called Zayn in the first place. It wasn’t to tell him where he’d slept; it was to get some help in escaping from this place. Looks like he’ll have to do it on his own.

A knock startles him. “Louis, you alright in there?”

“I have a hangover,” he lies. It’s really not that bad.

“I’ll see if I have something for that.”

Nathan’s footsteps get quieter. When he’s out of earshot, Louis hopes, he calls a cab and recites the address he heard Nathan say. He’d like to leave without having to thank the guy that let him stay over but the cab driver says he won’t make it for another twenty minutes.

Louis finally exits the bathroom with freshly brushed teeth. Lulu curls around his feet. He jumps over it and finds Nathan in a small kitchen. He’s filling up a cup of water which he hands to Louis.

“This is all I could find,” he admits, passing over a pair of Tylenol. “It probably won’t do much. It never works for me.”

“‘s’fine.” Louis swallows the pills out of courtesy. He fixes his eyes on the guy that’s way nicer than Louis deserves. After all the shit he’s talked about him, all the insults that only Zayn completely agrees with. “My cab should be arriving soon.”

Nathan drops his eyes to the floor. “Oh...”

“What?” Louis squawks disbelievingly. Okay, he has to put a stop to whatever the hell is going on in Nathan’s head. “You didn’t actually think I was going to stay for a little play date, did you?” He’s laughing now and there might be a hint of malice in his tone.

Lifting his eyes from pointedly staring at the ground, Nathan frowns at Louis. “You don’t have to be so rude about it.”

“Seriously? This,” Louis gestures at the space between them, “Can never be anything.”

“You _are_ with Harry, aren’t you?”

Woah, okay. Louis didn’t see that one coming. Because… Does Nathan actually like Louis or something?

“Do you like me or something?”

An unwavering flicker of hope flashes in Nathan’s eyes and then it disappears. Temporary exposure. Louis might have imagined it.

“You promised me a date. On Twitter.”

“It was a joke, dude.”

“Asking me to dance last night was a joke too, then? You were using me because Styles was with Tom, huh? You’re not that good at lying, Tomlinson.”

So they’re back to using last names. Much less personal. Whatever.

“There’s _nothing_ going on between me and Harry,” Louis states calmly. He feels so wrong saying it. But. He doesn’t want anyone knowing the truth about him and Harry. Only the people closest to them are well-informed. Louis would have to be beyond stupid to let anyone from The Unwanted know the truth. It would give them the upper hand and he can never allow that to happen. He steps forward, to make his words as believable as possible. “Frankly, I don’t care if you believe me or not.”

A silence settles around them. It’s quiet enough to hear Lulu’s soft snores from some other part of the house. Louis doesn’t blink and neither does Nathan.

“You didn’t answer my question…” Louis doesn’t know what he’s doing now but his mind is set. “Do you like me?”

Considering his response, Nathan rubs his temples. He turns away from Louis and presses his palms against the counter by the stove. His back looks to be rigid. Louis has an opportunity to run out and end this ridiculous conversation before he hears words he’s not prepared for.

Something tells him he should stay.

“I think you’re fit.”

“What?”

This is the most laughable situation Louis’ ever been in. He can’t believe Zayn’s missing it. If he were more evil, Louis would slip out his phone and record the speech he’s about to hear, is pretty sure there’s one coming. _Damn_.

“When we were dancing, I noticed your eyes. They’re unreal. In a good way. Like, there’s something really attractive about the way you use them to look at people.” Nathan turns back to face him. He takes a deep breath while Louis isn’t so sure he can manage the simple act himself. “And then, you were dancing and using your hips.” He’s staring at the ground again. “I never noticed how hot you are.”

This is bizarre. Louis is really close to smacking some sense into this boy. Why is he being so open? Doesn’t he know what Louis could do? He could take advantage of the information and use it against him. It could cause so much trouble and yet, he’s unaware of it. Or maybe he doesn’t know Louis enough to fear the possibility that he could mess with him. He’s making himself a really easy target.

“You think I’m hot?” Louis needles slowly. He’s still trying to get a grasp on this confession.

“Do you blame me?”

Honestly, no. Louis knows he’s hot. Just… this is all Harry’s. He belongs to no one but Harry.

~ ~ ~

“Have a nice night, Lou?”

Louis stops his movements. He’d tiptoed over the threshold and set his keys in the metal dish as quietly as possible. He planned to slip right by and ninja his way up the stairs and to their room without making a single sound. It was still early, after all. Not even nine yet. He had prayed in the taxi ride over that Harry either wasn’t home or was deep asleep to even notice anything.

He also made sure that there weren’t any surprise paparazzi waiting outside of Nathan’s flat. Fortunately, there hadn’t been any. As soon as he’d heard the cab’s horn go off, Louis left Nathan hanging, checked that the coast was clear, and practically dived into the awaiting vehicle.

“Harry, you’re up early.”

He’s in the living room. Standing and ready to pounce on the latecomer. The state of his hair is sinful, messy and tousled. He didn’t even bother to change out of the outfit he wore to the premier. Only the tie is missing.

Harry isn’t happy, judging by the lethal gleam in his glossy eyes. Then he speaks again and it’s harsh enough to send Louis running toward the hills. Except he doesn’t, stays put to ensure his survival.

“Where did you sleep last night?”

Louis deliberates in telling him the truth, what shit it could cause between them—not that shit isn’t already present. Shit front row and center. _Shit._

“On a couch.”

Shrewd, Louis can be shrewd.

“I’m serious, Lou.” Harry crosses his arms.

What the hell? Where is this coming from? Louis must have walked into the wrong home because his Harry doesn’t act that way. “You asked where I slept. I answered couch which is where I slept, AKA the answer to your _serious_ question.” Louis crosses his arms too (because he can).

Harry sighs in an irritated manner. “You’re a fucking prick.”

Throwing all his reticence aside (not that Louis has ever owned much), he crosses the wooden floor right up to Harry, leaving less than a foot between them.

“So is your little friend Thomas but that didn’t stop you from dancing all over him. You must have a thing for pricks.”

Harry creases his brows at the pun that was clearly intended. He steps away from Louis. “I didn’t have my hands all over him. You, however, basically groped Sykes in front of me.”

“I _didn’t_!”

“I saw you!”

“He fell into me!”

“Oh, how nice of you to rescue him!”

Louis flinches at the loudness of Harry’s usually soothing voice. “Why are you yelling?”

“Why are you missing a shoe?”

Without thinking, Louis says, “I lost one at Nathan’s.”

The whites around Harry’s pupils expand. He points a finger at Louis. “You spent the night with him?”

“Yeah—I mean, no! Dammit. You and Zayn like to jump to fucking conclusions.” He reaches for Harry who balks at his touch. “Babe—”

“Don’t touch me,” Harry growls, nostrils flared. He attempts to walk around Louis to leave the room but the other holds him in place, hands gripping at the biceps.

“No, listen to me! We left the party together. When the cab pulled up here, Nathan said he saw a pap and immediately got us away before getting spotted—”

“Sure he did.”

“—by the time we got to his place, I was tired—”

“From what?” Harry squeaks.

“From dancing. What else?”

“And that’s all you did?”

“We also had amazing sex in front of the fireplace and videotaped it.” Louis tightens his grip a smidgen. Rolling his eyes, he adds, “Seriously, why would you ask that? You know I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Harry stays quiet as he focuses his eyesight on anything besides the boy in front of him.

“Please look at me.”

When green orbs meet the blues, there’s a lot of sadness in exchange for the action. Louis fucking hates it. Harry needs to know that he’s done joking and all he wants is peace. And a kiss would be nice. “Hazza, I wouldn’t do that to you,” he says firmly.

Taking a deep breath, Harry nods his head languidly. His eyelashes flutter against the top of his cheek bones. “Nick advised me to keep my hormones out of it until we get things sorted but I really want to touch you right now.”

Louis draws back a breath. “I’m not stopping you.”

They close the gap between them. It was starting to feel icy. They replace that coldness with the heat of their skin and their fast-moving mouths and hands. “Fuck,” Louis moans against Harry’s neck. He follows up with a slew of curse words straight from a sailor’s mouth. Harry’s too turned on to scold him for the poor choice in vocabulary. Instead he grunts, “Too—too much clothes,” while tugging at the unnecessary turtle neck that Louis is still wearing. It’s covering most of Louis and especially Harry’s favorite part: the dip between his collarbones.

Somehow they end up on top of the breakfast table (Louis makes a mental note to scrub it down later) and although it’s not the most comfortable spot and he thinks the back of his thighs are definitely going to sport a couple of awkward bruises after this is over, it’s perfect. Harry is harsh with his teeth but gentle with his thrusts. Louis meets him halfway in time to the steady rhythm.

While Harry works on a lovebite between Louis’ collarbones, the pliant boy below reminds Harry why he loves him. Why hiding their relationship from the public is worth it. Why he’s jealous of Grimshaw. Why he’s jealous of Tom. Why Harry shouldn’t be worried about Nathan.

Obviously he leaves out the part about Nathan being interested in Louis because he doesn’t want to ruin this. Harry isn’t likely to have a reasonable reaction to that and Louis isn’t willing to prove it. He’ll keep that information to himself. Maybe he’ll tell Zayn because he tells Zayn everything. No one else has to know about it.

“I really love you,” Harry whispers when they’re coming down from their rush. They stagger to the bathroom down the hall.

“I know.” Louis sticks his tongue out and dodges a poke from Harry. “I love you too, ya goof.”

“Don’t do that to me again.”

Louis turns on the shower and tests the temperature of the water. “You’re going to have to be more specific. After what we just did…”

“Don’t sleep anywhere I’m not.”

It’s not a demand. It’s more of a simple request that tugs at Louis’ heart. Harry Styles will always have the ability to stun his insides into overdrive. He refuses to look at him, thankful to be occupied with the shower knobs.

“Says the boy who slept at Nick’s the other night. And other random nights on multiple occasions, mind you.”

Harry steps onto the cold tile and pulls Louis in to join him under the relaxing flow of the water. “I know what it feels like now. I—I didn’t realize how shitty it was until… Sorry.”

Louis presses a chaste kiss to his cheek. “I’m sorry too. For being a jerk and not giving Nick a chance. But I’m telling you this right now, I won’t be sorry if you keep hanging out with Tom.”

“Lou, you can’t choose who I hang out with.”

“You can hang out with whoever you want. Anyone but Tom. He gives me bad vibes.”

Grimacing, Harry takes Louis’ face in his hands, looks at him carefully. “He’s not as bad as you think.” He kisses his boyfriend swiftly, their wet lips making a funny sound when they part. “But if that’s what you want, I can deal.”

Louis Tomlinson knew he hit a goldmine when he set his eyes and heart on Harry Styles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. 
> 
> xxxxx


	8. pee-pee boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long update just because. 
> 
> xx

They get through the next week with the usual morning cuddles, daytime activities, and nightly affections. The band has these days off which they all take full advantage of (especially Louis and Harry) to lay low and rest before they all depart for California. They have a few appearances and performances lined up in Los Angeles.

All is fine until Harry reminds Louis about the things he saw on Twitter the night of the premiere, stuff that pissed him off before Louis justified his actions. Louis is frustrated that his escapade with Nathan wasn’t much of an escape; it’s become pretty damn apparent to anyone who cares that something was going on. Further proof that they hung out makes it to the hands of the media. The paparazzo that Nathan must have spotted when they got to Louis and Harry’s flat is probably the one to begrudgingly thank. It was debated whether the photo was legit due to the pixelated quality. At first. That is, until a skilled Photoshop user created a clearer version of the picture that confirms everything the public speculated.

Various headlines catch the boys’ attention as they pop up just about everywhere that matters and everywhere that doesn’t:

**Is Louis Tomlinson dating the youngest member of The Wanted?**

**One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson becomes a softy for Nathan Sykes!**

**Who saw Tomlinson-Sykes coming? No one!**

**Will the rivalry between the most current boy groups die down thanks to this new friendship?**

**First Harry and Tom, now Louis and Nathan? Woah! Are Zayn and Max next?**

And then there’s the favorite:

**Who will wear the pants in this relationship? It’s a tight call.**

“God, I knew I loved Sugarscape for a reason,” Zayn gushes over the online article he printed out for the benefit of their entertainment. He claims he’s getting a special frame to hang it up above his headboard.

“If you don’t put that fucking thing away, I’ll chop your balls off!” Louis’ threat travels from upstairs and down to Niall’s game room where the five of them are holding a Ping-Pong tournament. The fact that Louis can tell they’re still talking about it is scary. Paper thin walls are scary.

Zayn and Niall howl with laughter as they continue re-reading the article that has pushed Louis closer to planning their deaths.

“Guys, we get it. Tight pants, Louis wears them. Let’s move on,” Liam reasons. His attention is mainly on the match he’s having with Harry. He gives his right wrist a quick flick to score a point on his opponent. “You’re not helping.”

“He’ll be fine.” Zayn shrugs. “If it bothered Lou that much, he would have given a statement to clear this crap up by now. A little ‘we aren’t even friends’ could have sufficed.”

“He can’t do that,” Harry mutters across from Liam (the only one who hears him). He speaks up for the other two, “He said Lou should stay quiet for a while.”

“Who said that?” Niall asks.

“Uncle Si.”

Liam almost misses the small ball coming his way. “Simon spoke to him about it?” He’s genuinely surprised because Simon Cowell doesn’t usually contact them for those things. That’s what their management team is for.

“A few days ago Lou was freaking out so we called him. Simon and Kate agree that it’s best if this Tomlinson-Sykes thing prolongs,” Harry explains with a roll of the eyes, doesn’t seem pleased with the decision.

“What? I don’t understand why they’d think that. I mean, I get it from Kate’s point of view, marketing and profile-raising and all that fun stuff she's an expert on… But Uncle Si, he knows about you and Louis.” Liam’s frustration can be seen from a mile away. It’s endearing.

“Doesn’t matter if you look at the big picture,” Louis quips, bounding back into the furnished basement. He’s balancing a tray of drinks with one hand. “Makes good publicity having rivals getting along, hanging out. Bonus points if they’re rumored to be dating.”

Harry frowns at Louis but doesn’t say anything.

“And you agree with that?”

Louis sets the tray down in front of Zayn and Niall, turns to look at Liam, expression less cheerful than before. “No, Li, not really.” He glances at Harry. “But my opinion doesn’t matter here. Remember when Harry had to pretend he was dating Flack? And our little _friend_ , Swifty? No one asked us if we minded.”

Those were dark times for all of them. The strain between Harry and Louis’ relationship took a toll on their sanity. The others had to sit back and embrace the mess that came forth because every time they tried to help, nothing good ever came from it. Especially when Eleanor was around, another botch they dealt with.

When Harry and Louis aren’t happy together, the whole band feels off-balance.

Good times.

They go on in a comfortable silence. All that can be heard is the game that Liam and Harry continue to engage in. Sometimes Niall covers his mouth when he thinks of the Sugarscape article, disguises his giggles by acting as a commentator for the Ping-Pong game. While those three try to keep things normal, Zayn encases Louis in a warm hug over by the sound system, keeps him calm for the time being. Harry keeps an eye on them. He’s not jealous, he’s worried. Louis hasn’t been himself lately, not as loud, not as wild. Zayn’s good at prompting the mischievous side of Louis out of its shell. Harry hopes he can do just that so that they can all have an easy time in America. He prefers a rowdy Louis over a dispirited Louis—everyone does.

~ ~ ~

Milkshake City hits the spot every time. The City Slicker is Louis’ favorite shake. He sips it while he watches Harry down his Nutter Butter the same way a regular person drinks water. Zayn did them the favor of bringing these over (they’ve both been hermits the past few days. Louis’ avoiding the questions that are likely to come his way and Harry is simply staying in to keep him company). As their last day in London approaches, they thought it would be nice to follow up on their usual ritual: indulge themselves with delicious and fattening milkshakes.

Zayn hasn’t left since he arrived with their orders. He set up camp at the end of their bed without an invitation, eyes set on the movie Harry picked for the evening: _Like Crazy_. Louis hates it. When they realize Zayn didn’t bring any napkins, Louis volunteers to go get some. Any excuse to see less of that movie is fine with him. He leaves the room quickly but takes his time in the kitchen.

He startles when someone comes up behind him and squeezes his bum. Relieved to find the culprit is Zayn, he relaxes against the counter, crossing his arms. Everything has always been easy with them—no questioning motives.

“Napkins, Lou? Is that our new code?”

Except for that.

“There’s no code.”

“Isn’t that why we’re down here? You want to discuss something in private.”

“I just needed to get away from that terrible film. If you followed me down here, that was out of your own will not because I wanted you to.”

Zayn doesn’t flinch at Louis’ clipped tone. He ignores the second part actually. “I thought you loved it?”

“ _Harry_ loves it. What’s so great about an ending that doesn’t really end?”

“It does end. They split in a symbolic way.”

“In the shower. That’s fucking lame.”

Zayn snorts, leans against the island and copies Louis’ stiff posture. They sigh collectively. The previous glee disappears from his eyes and is replaced by concern. If Zayn is concerned, then, shit, there’s a reason to be worried. “You’re taking this situation worse than what it is.”

“Am I?” Louis asks noncommittally.

“Lou, think about it. You could use this to our advantage.” Zayn looks hungry with the idea that must be running through his mind. Louis doesn’t even want to know.

Or does he?

“ _Our_ advantage?”

“We can _use_ Nathan to mess with his fucking band.”

Louis smiles and presses a finger to his lips to indicate that Zayn should lower his voice. Zayn follows quickly. In a whisper, he confesses that he came up with the idea when Louis was in search of someone to dance with, which explains why Zayn chose Nathan. At the time, he assumed Zayn only did so to mess with Louis when in reality, it was the other he was aiming to badger.

There isn’t much time to say more, eventually, Harry whines from the top of the stairs that Louis’ going to miss his favorite scene in the movie. The stupid shower scene made up of flashbacks and an awkward silence.

“Wouldn’t want to miss _that_ ,” Louis mumbles with a twinge of annoyance. Zayn can feel the adoration emitting from within Louis. “When he falls asleep, we’ll talk,” he tells Zayn.

~ ~ ~

As promised, the boys talk once Harry falls asleep which isn’t a long delay. Louis lolls him to a peaceful rest in hardly any time by rubbing the small of his back and cuddling him to his chest. Zayn waited in the living room meanwhile, said he rather not watch the cute shit the couple shamelessly gets up to.

Louis drops down on the couch moments later, leaves his head on Zayn’s lap and lies there comfortably. Zayn smirks at the boy looking up at him, shoves him off after a while.

“I can’t think with you looking at me like that.”

“Aw Zayn, babe, do you fancy a kiss?”

“Shut the fuck up. Are you sure your boy’s asleep?”

Louis nods, eyes sparkling with esteem.

“Good, he can’t know about this.”

“About us?” Louis pinches his cheeks while making a kissy face at his best friend.

Zayn plucks the offensive fingers off his face. “Definitely,” he deadpans. “But on a serious note, do you think you can do it?”

“Pretend to like Sykes? I don’t know… I can barely stand him.”

“You looked comfortable on the dance floor with him.”

“I wasn’t!” Louis yells. For a second they fear Harry’s going to wake up. He doesn’t. Quieter, Louis repeats, “I wasn’t. It was just to get back at Harry, you know that.”

“Yeah and I’m sure you weren’t comfortable at his pad either.”

“It was weird! He has a stupid cat that doesn’t even have hair.”

“Lou, all you’d have to do is hangout with him and be seen in public a bit. The cat doesn’t have to tag along.”

“We don’t need the publicity,” Louis points out. One Direction really doesn’t. The Unwanted would benefit more from that aspect and who wants that?

“It’s not about that, you dummy. You’re going to get close to Sykes so that he’ll give you information, _information_ that can be useful if you catch my drift.”

Louis’ eyebrows crease. “What happens when I can’t get rid of Nathan, after it all blows over? ‘Oh, sorry mate, this was all a sham, ta-ta.’”

“Who cares? Sykes will have to deal with it.” Zayn looks at him as if he’s just transformed into a giant bug. Like the dude in Franz Kafka’s literary work. At least if that happened to Louis, he wouldn’t fit through the flat’s door resulting in avoiding Sykes for good. He still hasn’t told anyone about what that boy said to him. He’s in denial mostly. “Don’t tell me you’d actually feel bad.”

Scoffing, Louis rolls his eyes to the back of his head to show how silly Zayn’s statement is. “Of course not…” He doesn’t mean to deliberate the next thing he’s going to say. It gives the other a hint that some scandal is on its way. Louis should just keep his mouth shut. But he’s never been able to do that with Zayn. Damn the connection they have!

“Yeah?” Zayn prods for more.

“He uh—he said something stupid before I left his place.”

“And?”

“He thinks I’m fit.”

Zayn doesn’t laugh, that’s what daunts Louis. He was expecting a field day on the Malik Agenda, with the gem Louis just gave him, what else is there to assume? If Zayn isn’t there as his partner in crime, or as his support, he’s there to make fun of him. There’s no other assimilation, shouldn’t be.

Louis breaks eye contact. He gestures at Zayn with both hands, at the boy sitting in a statue-like way. “Say something, you’re freaking me out!”

Choosing his words carefully, Zayn enunciates slowly, “This project is going to be easy.”

Now he laughs. They both do.

~ ~ ~

Is it a mistake? That they don’t discuss where Harry fits into their scheming? Their excuse could be that Harry was asleep at the time.

Yeah, that’s what they’ll go with.

~ ~ ~

The first time he goes outside into the world of bullshit he regrets it right away. Hesitating at the entrance of the building Zayn instructed him to go to, Louis gives the person at the front desk a couple of pounds to turn a blind eye on his visit. Bribery isn’t becoming a thing, it’s just necessary for now.

He doesn’t like what he’s about to get up to and feels terrible for lying to Harry.

_(“I’m going to meet up with Stan, he’s in town,” he’d lied._

_“I thought we were staying in again.” Harry made a show of pouting._

Louis really hates when he does that.

_He closed his eyes briefly. It was going to take a lot for him to do this. “I’ll be back in a bit, love.”)_

The worst part about lying is that he’ll be forced to come up with another lie to cover the original lie and at one point it’s all going to be the foundation for one big lie on top of that. The tower of lies. He’s definitely earning himself a non-stop flight to hell. At least he’ll run into Zayn down there. They make a perfect match.

And then as fate’s punishment, Louis is forced to make a trek up nine flights of stairs (Who thought giving this guy a penthouse would be a good idea?) because the elevator is temporarily out of service. He didn’t sign up for this shit, is supposed to be lazing about with his boyfriend, not visiting someone he can hardly stand whilst getting a workout from it. Zayn’s words of encouragement come to mind right as Louis considers turning back: ‘ _you gotta risk it to get the biscuit_.’

Whatever the fuck that’s supposed to mean…

With a funny feeling boiling in the pit of his stomach, he reaches the same door he shamefully exited not many mornings ago. It creaks open before Louis gets a chance to rap on it. A stunned Nathan Sykes freezes as he becomes aware that he has an unexpected visitor.

Louis manages a friendly smile—after forcing air back into his lungs. That milkshake did not help his fitness. “Hey.”

Still dumbfounded, Nathan looks around to see if Louis’ greeting someone other than him. When he confirms there isn’t anyone else, Nathan squeaks, “Hello?” 

Internally heaving a sigh, Louis cocks his head to the side. “Were you on your way out?”

“Uh, not really. Just going to fetch my mail.”

Fuck if this is awkward. With the way that Nathan is observing him and the way Louis struggles to slow down his heartbeat, a tornado would be welcomed to disrupt this situation. Or a tsunami. Or a fangirl mob. Anything, really.

“Erm, you wanna come in?”

Louis lets out a noncommittal chuckle, mutters something along the lines of “that would be nice” and enters the flat once Nathan steps aside to let him through.

The first thing Louis sees as he walks in is the hairless beast from the other morning, napping in the middle of the foyer. He’s glad that thing is asleep and not rubbing itself around his ankles again. Nathan goads Louis into a den where basically everything is red, from the lamps to the curtains to even the walls, claiming the living room is an embarrassing mess. Both are in Louis’ book. The guy seriously needs a remodeling job and pronto. Red is Louis’ favorite color but not when it resembles blood of the enemy on walls that shouldn’t be such a crimson shade. Louis would offer Zayn’s expertise at artistic crap but, well, Zayn would probably _accidentally_ set the place on fire. That would put a damper on their plans and who wants to deal with that chaos?

Nathan coughs, breaking Louis out of his reverie. “Need a drink? You look like you ran all the way here.”

 _The motherfucking elevator isn’t working!_ “The elevator isn’t working.” Does he look that worn?

“Ah, not again! Tends to happen often. Come on, I’ll make you a drink. Do you like tea?”

If he avoids questioning it now, it’ll plague his mind for a while. Louis has never understood why people are nice at times. Not everyone is deserving of it. Especially not him, having failed to thank Nathan for the hospitality the night he stayed over.

“Why are you being so… polite? I don’t think I exactly earned it last time I was here.”

Nathan looks surprised by Louis’ honest query. _The only honesty you’re going to be getting, bub_. The singer shakes his head jerkily. “It was my fault, I made things weird.” He opens and closes his mouth, in practice of a speech Louis can’t predict. Exhaling, he eventually adss in a low voice, “Forget what I said, please. It was out of line.”

Merciless rubbish. Louis thought all he had to worry about was Harry’s stake in the game. Now, adding onto the pile is Nathan Sykes: A+ human being it seems. Louis swallows the lump in his throat. “What if I don’t want to forget?” He does something a bit provocative, doesn’t bat his eyelashes or unzip his pants—none of that. It’s more of a little flick of his tongue, peaking out and moistening his bottom lip for a brief second.

In that second, the intended exploit catches Nathan’s attention. He blushes. “What do you mean by that?” It appears that Louis has just risen the temperature in the room. “Tomlinson?”

Louis suppresses a yawn. “Louis, my name is Louis.”

“O—okay,” Nathan stutters, “Louis. I—I’m confused.”

“I’m here because I want to ask you on that date I promised. Do you like sushi?”

Nathan’s eyes travel up and down Louis’ body slowly. He could be assuring himself that the boy standing in front of him isn’t a hologram or a ghost. To prove that he’s really there in the flesh, Louis steps closer to him and pats his shoulder gently. Feels so wrong.

“So?” he presses. Please say no. _Say no_. SAY NO.

~ ~ ~

“It’s been done.”

“ _Yeah_?”

“Yeah.”

“ _Go Tommo! It was easy, right_?”

“Better be fucking worth it.”

“ _Oh, most definitely_ ,” _Zayn says drily._

“Just make sure you hold up your end.”

~ ~ ~

Louis emerges from Nathan’s bathroom after hanging up on a cheerful Zayn. Bribery isn’t becoming a thing but using the loo for rushed phone calls is apparently. Oh god.

Lu-Lu, now awake, purrs at Louis’ feet and digs her claws into the bottom cuffs of his jeans. He’s about to kick it a good distance away from him when her owner breaks into song and disturbs Louis’ evil shenanigans. The pet from hell nudges Louis one last time before running off to the source of the mellow tone, scratchy but soulful. Fuck how soothing it sounds. Louis follows her—follows _it_ , the voice. They find Nathan leaning against the front door. He picks up his cat to stroke her torso, lowering his singing level to a mere whisper.

Thank god. Louis is in no position to compliment his ability. Like, ever.

Nathan realizes that he’s being watched. He bounds over to the onlooker and holds out Lu-Lu as if she were a peace offering.

 _Get that fugly thing away from me!_ “I’m allergic.”

“But she doesn’t have hair,” Nathan reasons with a frown. “Isn’t that the cause for cat allergies?”

“Not a good idea either way.”

“That’s okay.” Nathan stoops down to let Lu-Lu run off. He straightens up and meets Louis’ eyes, cheeks instantly going red. “Are you ready to go now?”

 _No_. “Yup.” Louis tries to not throw up in his mouth. “So, the place is in downtown, hope you don’t mind.”

“Downtown? We’ll most likely be seen there.”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

He receives a shake of the head and an enthusiastic “I’m game” as a response. This guy is really easy to sway. All Louis had to do was look at him with a small smile. He’s hardly making an effort here whereas before he got with Harry, it took dedication to charm that boy.

~ ~ ~

To say their _date_ is cumbersome is not much of a hyperbole. Louis leaves a lot of space between them as they walk on the sidewalk in downtown. Before he did so, the backs of their hands brushed together a few times. Louis cringed and thought of Harry on each occasion. At least with more air between them, he feels less miserable. He wears sunglasses so that he can hide his emotionless eyes. He’s immediately reminded of how it was like when he was “with” Eleanor. (Difference is that he had Harry’s consent…)

At least the timing of their evening out isn’t too bad. Only a couple of fans come up to them. Well, they come up to Louis mostly. A few speak to Nathan out of courtesy, even snap quick selfies with him. Louis’ pretty sure one of them asks about his company but he pretends to not hear them. Who would have ever thought Louis Tomlinson would willingly go out and about with someone from The Undesired? His fans surely never saw that one coming. But damn, this is probably going to end up on the internet and in magazines. Harry’s going to love it.

Louis frowns at the thought. Nathan catches it as they take their seats in the middle of the restaurant. That isn’t intentional. The waiter barely looks at the pair as he leads them to their table. “Louis, you alright?”

Ever since Louis told him to drop Tomlinson and stick to his first name, Nathan’s been abusing the privilege. First name basis is not what he wanted.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You look a little… off.”

Louis levels him with a stare. “I’m fine, see,” he says, displaying a dazzling smile.

Nathan bites his bottom lip and looks away, toward the large windows of the restaurant. He worries the sensitive skin between his teeth. “Erm, Louis? I think I just saw a flash go off.”

“Fans probably followed us.”

“That bald man doesn’t look like a fan of pop music.”

Louis follows his line of sight and gasps. Nathan’s right, the man looks quite old and rather unapproachable to say the least. When spotted, the stranger lingering on the sidewalk moves his hands to hide them behind his back. A camera, he’s hiding a camera.

“Brilliant."

“Should we go elsewhere?”

They look at each other and at one point there’s a cheeky grin from Nathan and a bemused expression from Louis. “That’s not what I meant!” Nathan groans, hiding his face behind his hands in the process.

Louis pulls them away, reveals Nathan’s tomato-red cheeks, and pats his hands gracelessly. “Fine right here.”

~ ~ ~

“We were in the middle of this gig in Manchester and—you’re going to judge me so hard.” Nathan’s blushing fiercely. That’s all he can seem to do around Louis.

“Can’t promise I won’t.”

Hesitating, he admits, “I forgot to wee before the show and when Siva messed up a line in one of our songs, I…” he doesn’t continue, too self-conscious to go on. The sole reason he decided to share this story with Louis is because they’re trying to one-up each other with embarrassing tour moments.

“You pissed yourself on stage?”

“Not so loud!” Nathan’s arms flail around as if that’ll keep Louis’ voice from carrying over the conversations going on in the line to pay for their frozen yogurt. A few heads turn.

Louis evilly smirks. “Pee-pee boy.”

“Real mature.”

“Didn’t mummy teach you to always go to the potty first?”

Nathan pokes him in the center of his stomach. “Shut up.” He looks at Louis’ face with hooded eyes.

Alarms go off inside Louis’ head. Those eyes look like expectant eyes. Does Nathan seriously think he’s going to get some legit physical contact before they part ways? Like a kiss or something? If so, he’ll come up short. There’s no way in hell that Louis will ever give him that pleasure. Not even if the reward were to be as grand as a duet with Bruno Mars or a life supply of Yorkshire Tea.

“I got this,” Nathan affirms. They’ve reached the cash register. Louis paid back at the sushi joint, the least the other could do is pay for the yogurt (which Louis heavily prepared with heaps of toppings). Their attendant squeals with delight and asks Louis to autograph her work apron.

~ ~ ~

“Is it always like that?”

“Like how?” Louis says between a mouthful of tart yogurt.

“Not being able to go out in public without getting recognized?”

“Oh.” He licks his spoon, shrugs but assumes he’s supposed to give a real answer. “Depends I guess. During days off, we usually attempt to stay under the radar. It can get a bit too much, y’know? It’s not so bad in England. But when we’re in other countries, there’s no way to avoid it. One person spots us or photographs us and spreads the word to those who go out of their way to meet us.”

“We don’t get the same reception. I can’t recall ever getting mobbed to a point where I feared my life.”

“If we’re jumping to those extremes… I’ve never feared for my life. It hasn’t been so bad that I felt the need to wear a protective vest. I like the peace a lot, ‘course, but I like meeting fans too, especially if it makes their day. It’s part of the job, I suppose.”

Having a normal conversation with Nathan is simple. Ignoring Harry’s text messages isn’t. He tries hard to not glance at his phone often. By the time they make it back to Nathan’s apartment, the night has settled into a slight chill. Louis rubs his arms and slips his phone back into his pocket.

“Guess I’ll see you then.” He waves and heads down the block in the direction of home (he fancies a walk).

“Louis!”

“Ya?”

Nathan sounds breathless. “I just remembered you left your shoe in my flat the other day.”

He wants this day to be over, wants to go sleep it off. “Hold onto it.”

“O—okay. Will I be seeing you again? Or was this a one-time thing?”

“I have work in L.A. starting this weekend.”

“We’ll be down there for the Teen Choice Awards.”

Fuck.

~ ~ ~

He reads Harry’s latest text when he’s alone:

_I know you’re not with Stan._

Fuck.

~ ~ ~

Louis arrives home, aware they have company over. He hears Niall arguing with Zayn over a pair of missing sunglasses. He tiptoes into the living room where Zayn has an accusatory hovering close to the Irishman's chest.

“They’re my favorite pair!”

“I don’t have them!”

“Surely they didn’t grow a pair of legs and climb out the window.”

“Maybe they did, Zayn! Who knows what fucked up—Louis, hey.”

They stop bickering and turn to face him. Zayn grins. Niall doesn’t. He crosses his arms. “How was the raw fish, traitor?”

“I can explain, Ni—”

“Can you? I’d love to hear it.”

Louis whirls around and feels lightheaded. Harry appears from the hallway with an insane bedhead and flared nostrils. Liam grasps Harry’s shoulders from behind and whispers something into his ear. It probably does the opposite of what Liam intended—Harry doesn’t back down from towering over Louis’ whole being.

Sending Zayn a silent plead for help, Louis forms the fake explanation they came up with earlier on the tip of his tongue. He puts on his best annoyed face. “Stan stood me up so I went to pick up some sushi for us. Nathan was there already, I have no idea why, and waved me over to his table. He said I left my shoe at his—”

“Your shoe?” Niall cuts him off.

“My shoe.”

“So why is it all over Twitter that you ate with him?”

Bloody Twitter.

“I couldn’t just say no when he offered me a seat, Ni.”

“You’re too nice.” Zayn speaks all mock-innocent. Louis makes sure to not look his way, can’t risk blowing their cover-up story.

When Harry speaks he’s all low tenor and serious. “That’s all?”

“Thanks for dinner, Louis Tomlinson! Glad you didn’t forget you owed me a date.” Everyone turns to Niall who’s staring down at his phone. He looks up. “What? It just came through.”

“What was that?” Harry asks but doesn’t wait for an answer. Taking Niall’s phone, Harry’s eyes read the screen without blinking. He peers up at Louis. “Hashtag: see you at the TCA’s. Tweet from Nathan Sykes.”

“You’re subscribed to him?” Zayn claims Niall’s neck and puts him in a headlock.

“Louis, explain,” Liam nearly shouts.

Harry grabs the collar of Louis’ shirt and scrunches the material, lining their bodies up. “You _lied_ to my face.”

“Haz told me to keep an eye on Nathan!” Niall’s chocked cry breaks the spell.

Louis shoves Harry away. “You what?”

“Jesus, Zayn, let Niall go! He’s suffocating!” Liam leaves their side of the room to break apart the other two.

“Glad I did! You’d still be lying to me.”

They breathe roughly, the adrenaline kicking into their veins. Right when they had just cleared everything up, here it was again, more disorder. Perhaps he and Zayn should have thought this through a lot better. He can’t admit their mission and if he did, Harry would put an end to it. Louis isn’t so sure he wants to leave things half-assed. So he twists the story around.

“I felt bad! I was a jerk to him the other morning.”

“Since when do you care how you treat people you can’t stand?”

“I’m trying to be selfless, Styles, fuck you.”

“Okay, settle down,” Liam tries.

“So goddamn selfless that you made sure to tell me what was going on before I heard it from Tom? Oh wait, you didn’t. So, fuck you, Tomlinson!”

“You guys, stop!” Liam is ignored again.

“You’re still talking to Tom? I thought we agreed he was out of your life?”

“I can talk to whoever I want!”

“Guys!”

Louis shoots back, "I can treat whoever I want to dinner!"

Harry stumbles backwards from the blow that isn't even _that_ harsh, he's overreacting. Liam is there, taking on Harry's whole body weight. Or is he holding him back from a fight? "Get out!"

Liam sucks in a gasp, they all do. “Woah, Haz—”

"You're so hell-bent on ruining this, here's what I think: get the fuck out, Louis!"

Louis doesn’t make a move. Not until Harry stammers it again, shattering both of their hearts into millions of irreparable fragments. Third time's the charm. He doesn’t collect the pieces, doesn’t say another word, Louis just leaves and fucks off to God knows where.

~ ~ ~

Nathan’s. He fucks off to Nathan’s.

“I came back for my shoe,” Louis fibs. “And for a temporary spot on the couch,” not a fib.

No demands for a clarification are made. Nathan tucks him in with the same yellow blanket and tries to clear the cat from hades out of the living room. Louis begs for the cat to stay, even allows it to curl up at his feet. Her warmth isn't satisfying, he needs Harry's. He cries himself to sleep through the headache and the pain of letting things escalate too quickly.

~ ~ ~

In the morning, Louis listens to a voicemail Zayn left him: ‘ _Let’s drop this shit, Lou, I didn’t mean to risk what you guys have. It was stupid of me! Harry’s devastated. Forget about the whole plan. He wants you to come back. Tell me where you are, babe,_ _and I’ll pick you up. Be careful, okay?_ ’

Zayn chooses _now_ to revive his moral standing. Too late for that, Louis’ mind is set, all morals can suck his dick… SinceHarrywon’tbedoingthatforawhile. Whatever, if they’re meant to be as he thinks they are, they’ll find their way back to each other, add some corny shit about love and you got a future reconciliation (after he's done boggling Tom Parker's life, that is).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always welcome xx thanks for reading!
> 
> Did you guys know Microsoft Word auto-corrects ping pong as Ping-Pong???
> 
> Also, I love /Like Crazy/ jsyk. 
> 
> :)


	9. the tomlinson labyrinth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More web spinning and jealousy and cutesy dates and hotel rooms and news circulation.

“Darling, when you begged me to come over, I didn’t think I was coming to babysit.”

“Give that back,” Harry whines, fighting the urge to kick his friend out.

Nick holds up a bottle of Vodka past Harry’s lazy reach. It’s convenient that Harry’s so entangled in his blanket that he can’t wrestle his friend for possession of the clear liquid without ending up on the ground as a human burrito.

“Tell Grimmy what’s wrong and I’ll consider it. Let me judge whether you need this or not.”

“Why do _you_ get that authority?”

Nick doesn’t like his snarky tone and lets it be known. “Don’t talk to me like that.” He slaps Harry lightly upside the head. “I’m here to help and I’m your slightly older and brilliant, handsome friend who gives a damn about what’s causing this behavior. Is it safe to assume this is related to the fact that Lou-Lou isn’t here right now?”

The glare that is sent Nick’s way is frightening; he shrinks back a bit. Though young, Harry never fails to intimidate upon certain occasions. Weary that the young singer has had too much to drink since before Nick arrived, the bottle is placed tightly between his legs where he knows Harry’s hand won’t dare to venture.

Harry heaves a slow sigh. “I don’t know where he is.” _Though he has a clue_ …

“I thought things were good. Didn’t you fix them?”

“Yeah but—Grimmy, Louis’ a fucking dick! You won’t believe what he did!”

“You’re so melodramatic. Is this about that hot date he had with the cutie from The Wanted?”

Okay. Harry’s definitely going to kick his friend out, he’s lost all reservations. He makes to shove Nick off the couch but it goes all wrong. Harry feels his lip quiver and his heart race and the next thing he knows, he’s wrapping his arms around Nick and burrowing his face against his chest.

Nick pats his back. “To me it seems Louis was just following what Simon said.”

Pulling back, Harry shakes his head and in a brittle voice, “Simon said to stay quiet not parade around the city and pretend they’re fucking.”

“Didn’t he say it’s best if the public and the media think there’s something going on there? Fucking be damned?”

“You’re fucking terrible at making me feel better.” Harry messes with his own hair and drags his hands down his face as a show of frustration. “Forget what Simon thinks, there’s another more urgent issue. Louis _lied_ to me about it. He tried to come up with a bullshit story about going to meet up with Stan and coincidentally running into Nathan.”

“Harold, you honestly blame him for lying? You honestly think that if he had said, ‘babe, I’m going to hang out with Sykes because it makes a good story in the paper,’ you would have been cool with it?”

“Well, no.” Harry side eyes Nick. “But his motives are different, I think. They’re not about the image our label wants him to pursue to put an end to the rivalry we’ve had with that band. He’s after something else I just don’t know what it is.”

Nick takes his words in consideration. Something clicks in his mind and he lets out an amused chuckle. “How can this be anything but _that_?”

“What?”

“Lewis wants to make you jealous. Like at the premiere! That’s what this is all about, I bet. Jesus, I forget you two are still so young and vengeful and theatrical. I don’t know why I associate myself with you, to be honest.”

Harry ignores the not-so-subtle insult. He rethinks everything that’s happened in the last few days. He remembers there being a couple of times where he received a text message or two from Tom and pretended it was his mum so that Louis wouldn’t suspect a thing. Even though Louis explicitly asked Harry to stay away from Tom, he’d been doing a poor job of it. Harry is just not the type of person that refuses someone’s effort of befriending him. Tom has been making a huge effort from attempting to make him laugh to getting personal.

If Louis came across any of those messages and simply played dumb when Harry blurted out that Tom informed him about the sushi date… That’s it! Nick’s right. Louis only went out with Nathan to make him jealous and it apparently worked.

“I should have told him I was still talking to Tom,” Harry mutters desolately. “And… shouldn’t have kicked him out.”

“Did the romantic in you die?”

~ ~ ~

Is it possible for someone to be too hospitable? What does the law say about the extent that a homeowner should reach to accommodate a lodger? Presenting them with a pillow and a blanket should be sufficient, very amicable on their behalf. But to offer a foot rub, a hot cup of tea, a big breakfast, a change of clothes, a massage… That’s a bit uncanny.

Louis says ‘no thanks’ to all of the above with a sincere smile to show gratitude. He folds the blanket he slept with, finds his missing shoe, and scribbles his number on a post-it while Nathan showers.

“See you later,” he says to Lucifer’s pet on his way out. She’s not half as bad as he thought.

~ ~ ~

Louis runs into Nick when he gets home. The radio DJ was about to head out the door. They look at each other for a good minute and observe one another’s appearance; both clearly represent a lack of proper sleep.

“I’m running late to my show,” Nick says quickly. “I came over to babysit and fell asleep in the process, that’s all.”

“Thanks,” Louis mumbles, fighting the urge to laugh. He doesn’t need Nick to explain his presence, not anymore. His friendship with Harry no longer worries him. “Have a good show.”

Nick chokes on literally nothing. “Thanks.” They part ways, nodding at each other, and the air between them finally feels light and comfortable.

Harry is asleep on the sofa. All that can be seen poking out from his blanket are a mess of untamed curls. Louis approaches quietly. He wants to see Harry’s face—wants to touch it while it’s not frowning at him. (There’s going to be a lot of that for a while.) Harry shifts a bit and makes a low sound in his throat which means he’s dreaming. Louis pulls the blanket away from his boyfriend’s face to see it for a moment. His heart swells. This is his favorite part about living with Harry, seeing him resting in a peaceful slumber. Louis presses a chaste kiss to his temple and retreats quickly, not wanting to wake the beast that yelled the most hurtful words at him a less than twelve hours ago.

‘ _Get out_!’ was all Louis could hear while he tried to fall asleep.

~ ~ ~

Louis moves about the second floor of their flat, gathering things he’s going to somehow compress into the limited space of his suitcase. They’re leaving the next morning for LA. Harry still has no idea Louis’ home, the boy hasn’t woken up and it’s well past two in the afternoon. He usually helps Harry prepare his things when they go on trips but today, Harry’s a big boy, he can handle it.

Zayn called an hour ago and Louis ignored it. He calls again, this time getting a response.

“ _Prick. Where are you_?”

“Packing my shit. You?”

“ _Same. So… where did you sleep_?”

“I slept at Nathan’s.”

And in that exact moment, a drowsy Harry chooses to waltz into the room, rubbing at his eyes and scratching his stomach. He stops the motion of his fingers when Louis’ voice registers in his ears. Louis hopes that Harry is too sleepy to fully understand what he just said to Zayn.

“ _Bastard, I told you I’d pick you up. You didn’t have to do that. The gig is up_.”

Since Harry can’t hear Zayn’s side of the conversation, Louis bravely says, “It’s still going, actually.”

“ _Fuck, did you not hear my message_?”

“I’ll talk to you later, princess. Don’t over pack so that I can put some things in your suitcase in case they don’t all fit in mine. Bye.”

Louis pretends Harry isn’t standing in the doorway and continues doing what he was previously doing: rolling up shirts and pants and stuffing products into Ziploc bags. He keeps his hands busy and his eyes away from the observer.

“You slept at his again,” Harry states. It was meant to sound like a question but his voice betrayed him and made it sound accusatory.

“You kicked me out remember?” Louis returns mordantly. “Thanks for that, by the way, sure made us look like a happy couple in front of our mates.”

“Lou, if you hadn’t lied—”

“I could have stayed? How very generous of you, Styles.” Louis bows a bit, milking it for all it’s worth.

Harry stomps over. He cups Louis’ face and harshly presses their lips together and if the boy on the receiving end trembles against the physical contact, it’s only because he was caught off guard. Harry releases him and steps back. “You really know how to piss me off.”

“Feeling’s mutual, babe. Now let me get on with this mess so that I can get out of your hair.”

Harry grimaces, looking around at all the unnecessary stuff littering their bed. “You’re n—you’re not moving out.”

“I’m not.”

“Then?”

“I want to leave with my things ready for tomorrow.”

“Where are you going?”

Louis turns away to sort through a pile of pants. “Somewhere I’m welcome.”

“Lou,” Harry whispers. He can’t talk any louder because then he’ll scream like he did the night before. “I didn’t mean what I said, I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“I have plans with Nathan.” Louis delivers the blow off-handedly, like it’s no big deal.

Now Harry is screaming, well, not really but he’s close to it. “Good! I have plans with Tom.”

~ ~ ~

Neither of them has anything planned as they claim. But Louis contacts Nathan and Harry contacts Tom. They set something up last minute while the other is oblivious. And because they’re two boneheads from the same pod, they end up at the same place with their respective dates.

Louis and Nathan walk into Euphorium Bakery and get a table in a far corner next to Harry and Tom’s space. Harry doesn’t notice their arrival, too caught up in a story that Tom’s telling. To the contrary, Louis spots them right away and even makes a show of pulling Nathan’s seat out like a true gentleman. Nathan blushes. Tom cuts himself off during his spiel and reaches over to tap Nathan on the shoulder.

“What the hell, Nate?”

Nathan glares at Tom and looks up at Louis who’s barely pulling out his own chair. He turns back to Tom. “Can you no—”

“Hey, Louis,” Harry says loudly.

Louis freezes. “Harry.”

Tom and Nathan look at Harry and then at Louis and back at Harry.

“Why don’t you guys sit with us? There’s room here.” His brow is raised and Louis smells the challenge.  He’s never been one to back down.

Louis grits his teeth as Nathan pulls their chairs up to the neighboring table. Tom takes the opportunity to scoot closer to Harry and it irks Louis to the bones. He sends Harry a reproachful look making sure the other two miss it.

A beat passes until Nathan gets up again and asks what they want him to order. Tom volunteers to accompany him to the register, leaving Louis and Harry alone at the table. They tap their fingers and pick off fake lint from their jeans. After a while, Harry coughs and quietly asks, “Did you follow us?”

Louis snorts. “As if.”

“Why are you here?”

“This place is good.”

The current song that was playing in the background ends and next starts up an Ed Sheeran tune. Louis loves it and Harry sometimes sings it to him in the shower, where his low, deep voice echoes and Kiss Me becomes the soundtrack to Louis’ desires.

Louis feels the need to adjust his pants.

“I swear Lou, if he even touches you…”

“What if I initiate it?” Louis throws a discreet wink at Harry just as the boys return.

“Louis, they ran out of tiramisu. Is it okay that I ordered you a lemon tart? I noticed you like the yogurt.” Nathan sets down a dish with the small pastry and looks hopefully at Louis. Harry hides his irritation. He doesn’t approve of Nathan getting to know facts about **his** beau.

“That’s perfect,” Louis replies, giving Nathan a light squeeze on the wrist. He doesn’t look Harry’s way to gauge his reaction, can pretty much already picture it—brows in a tight line, eyes dark and dangerous.

Tom slides an apple strudel toward Harry and the boy does the unforgivable—he smiles up at Tom, baring his white smile and boyish dimples, hiding the fact that he was formerly planning homicide. Louis has become accustomed to seeing Nathan blush but now when he sees Tom’s cheeks display the same feedback, he aims a kick at Harry beneath the table. The boy’s face only falters for a second before returning the kick at Louis’ shin.

They keep doing that; whenever Louis makes Nathan giggle, whenever Harry compliments Tom; each time Louis touches Nathan, each time Harry brings out the big guns: the dimples.

Louis’ the first to give up on the charade and escorts Nathan out of the premises with Harry and Tom’s little to no approval. He frankly doesn’t care about what Tom thinks—who clearly does not esteem Louis. He hardly got a word from Tom and the only time that jerk spoke was to direct the conversation at Harry.

“Tom’s an ass,” Louis says to Nathan because fuck, it’s true.

“He’s a little overprotective of me because I’m the youngest. He means nothing by it, honest. The rest of the band is like this as well when it comes to me.”

_Sure._

Nathan slides into the cab Louis hailed. He waits for Louis to slip in and give out an address before continuing. “Harry… he’s really nice. Now I get it.”

Barely breathing, Louis faces him. “Get what exactly?”

“Why Harry gets a lot of attention from people… Why he got Tom’s attention.”

Harry Styles is a flawless human being, no matter what crap goes on between him and Louis’ relationship at times, he’s honorably perfect. What’s not to love about him? His good looks and charm and personality and talent… Louis catches himself from further delving into the wonderland that is his boyfriend to understand what Nathan just admitted. _Ugh_. “Are you saying that Tom genuinely fancies Harry?” He feels sick now and is glad the window is already partially rolled down. Fresh oxygen is nice.

“I’d say yes. He talks about him a lot.”

Staring out the window to hide his face from the prying eyes of his company, Louis internally curses Tom and hopes, no; he _prays_ that Tom won’t try anything with Harry while things are rocky between them. He feels a hand squeeze his and it shocks him how easily he can return the gesture. So that the driver can’t hear, Nathan whispers, “I think I know, Louis.”

~ ~ ~

“Tommo, what a mirac—”

Louis cuts Zayn off flagrantly. What he has to say is much more important than Zayn’s separation anxiety issues. He trudges into Zayn’s flat. “He figured it out!”

It takes Zayn more than a minute to think. His eyes and mouth widen dramatically, clearly connecting Louis’ conduct to their plan. “Shit, Harry figured it out?”

“No! Nathan! He figured it out!”

Zayn runs a hand through his hair and doesn’t even care he’s messing it up. That’s a first. “I told you to drop—”

“Not that!” Louis begins pacing in the middle of the foyer, exasperated and spent. “He knows I’m with Harry.” Now that he has released it, his voice goes back to a normal level, not in the highest octave that usually only Zayn and Liam can reach when they sing.

“Fuck. You could have gotten straight to the point from the beginning. I’m over here having a heart at—”

“And according to him, Tom fancies Harry. I guess my reaction to that said it all.”

“Damn, Lou, you’re usually so good at keeping up a façade during interviews. What happened?”

“I have no idea.” Louis sticks his bottom lip out in pure defeat. “It got to me a tad.”

Zayn hugs him and rubs his back, sweet, sweet Zayn.

“I also… I told him Harry and I are over to throw him off our trail.”

~ ~ ~

Liam and Niall arrive at the airport first. They kick back in a private room at Heathrow with Alberto and Preston, away from the crazy fans that showed up for their departure. As always, Liam worries about the others running late and freaks out about their flight leaving in about an hour. Niall doesn’t worry as much. He lies on the carpeted floor with music buds in his ears. Every other minute, Liam interrupts his listening spree to show him pictures that were taken the day before. Niall laughs at how ridiculous his band mates look whilst pretending to date other people.

When Harry shows up with Cal Aurand and Lou Teasedale, Liam immediately questions the sullen look on the boy’s face. “How are you doing?”

“Marvelous,” Harry articulates in his slowest speech. He steps over Niall to take a seat.

“Where’s um…” Liam scratches his arm. Tentatively, because he knows he must proceed with caution, he probes, “Where’s Lou?”

“He’ll be here.”

Harry’s quick answer stings Liam. He was certain Louis would have returned home at some point. Even Niall pulls out his earphones and sits up. “He didn’t spend the ni—”

“Not at home, no.”

Liam exhales sharply. If there’s one thing he dislikes about Harry is the ability he has to kill everyone’s mood. Niall borrows Liam’s phone and hands it over to Harry so that he can see what they’ve seen. They wait for an explanation. It never comes. Niall takes the plunge. “You guys are double-dating Sykes and Parker now? You’ve got to be the strangest couple ever.”

Harry fixes his eyes on Niall’s and returns the phone to Liam. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Liam and Niall keep their mouths shut for the time being, trying hard not to stare at Harry for longer than a second. His temper is unpredictable. Not even his good friend Cal can snap him out of it. Harry almost flings Cal’s professional camera into the unknown, that’s how bad it is.

Andy and Paul enter the hideaway, followed by a chatty Louis and Zayn. They quit talking when their sights fall on the people waiting on them. Harry acknowledge Louis. He picks up his carry-on bag and trails behind Cal to where their boarding platform is located.

“This trip is going to be fun.” Maybe Niall says it, or Zayn, whoever does so, is sounding unusually blasé.

On the plane, Louis situates himself between Zayn and Niall. They share a blanket and doze off here and there. Liam sits with Harry and Cal across the aisle. He has the aisle seat so he leans over to nudge Zayn awake.

Zayn complains and stares daggers at Liam.

“Where did Lou sleep?”

“What?”

Liam raises his voice to repeat his question—to be heard over the loud engine.

“You’re so nosey,” Zayn teases, dropping the hostility toward his friend. “Last night he was at mine. The night before, y’know, the night Harry kicked him out, he spent it with Sykes.”

“Why would he go there again? That’s the root of the problem… I… Wow.” Liam elects to stay in the dark and doesn’t bring up the subject again. Obviously Zayn is well-informed. It’s also obvious that he isn’t going to reveal much else. Liam lets him resume his snooze. He himself needs a nap more than anything. He can feel Harry watching him out of the corner of his eye and gives the fellow a sympathetic one-armed hug.

~ ~ ~

Los Angeles never disappoints. The sun is usually out, the fans are welcoming, and the environment is engaging. There’s a lot to do, many sites to see, places to sojourn. Theoretically speaking, a person shouldn’t spend most of their time locked up in a hotel room. A person would be crazy to pass up all the touristy activities and delights the area has to offer.

Niall looks for food at Universal’s City Walk. Zayn visits Shamrock Tattoo to further ink his skin. Liam finds interest in star-gazing at the Griffith Park Observatory since its nightfall. Louis? Who knows? Harry doesn’t. He’s been shut inside his hotel room watching _Pretty Woman_ and eating all the food from the mini fridge which is going to cost him a handful of bills. Three of the boys invited him to hang out but he shot each of them down. It’s the only evening they have off before the interviews and the short performances start up. He’d like some rest from jetlag.

Just as Julia Roberts and Richard Gere’s characters begin to fall in love on-screen, a sharp knock at the door makes Harry spill soda all over his shirt. He pulls it off and wonders why someone’s knocking, he didn’t order room service. As always Paul strictly suggests, Harry checks the peephole first. He jumps back, the close up of an eye freaks him out. _Louis_.

He opens the door unwillingly. “What?”

“Hey babe,” Louis greets, dragging his eyes up the length of Harry’s exposed torso.

“Don’t.”

Harry’s core beats irregularly. There is no struggle like the one he goes through to not pull Louis inside and not bend him over the edge of the queen-sized bed. He stuffs his hands in his pockets for personal constraint. Harry doesn’t know how long they’re going to keep this up—being mad at each other and acting as detached as ever. Both are to blame and both are to face the consequences.

Louis sees things differently. He marches in and kicks the door shut behind him. Harry staggers back.

“You gonna kick me out of this room too?”

“No,” Harry says to the beige carpet. He walks back to the bed, sits at the edge, and focuses on the TV.

“Pretty Woman, that’s macho,” Louis comments.

Harry ignores him in stride, picks up his drink and downs the remainder of it. His subdued actions don’t sit well with Louis and it shows all over his face—which Harry is _not_ looking at. He’s not admiring the way the low light in the room casts a lovely silhouette over Louis. He isn’t catching the way Louis’ long eyelashes fan out against his cheek every time he blinks. Stupidly and beautifully sculpted Louis.

He ineptly blurts, “Are you going to sit or what?” Louis is perplexed for the fraction of a second before hardening up his shell and taking a seat on Harry’s lap. “Louis, that’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean, then?” The tone of Louis’ voice is enchanting to his ears, dulcet and modulated. He never plays fair; Harry underestimates him at the most inconvenient times. He does the thing that thereupon gets Harry hot and bothered—grinds down on his crotch. The hoarse sound Harry lets slip makes Louis smirk. The wicked one leans down for a kiss and gets denied.

“You’re only here for sex.”

Louis recoils. “I’m here to spend time with _you_ , my boyfriend.”

“Last time I checked, I’m Harry Styles, not Nathan Sykes.” Harry manhandles Louis until he’s off his lap.

“Seriously? Shit, my bad. Let me go find that cute hunk of—what the shit, Harold? Listen to me!”

“All I can think when I hear you talk is how much of a dick you’ve been.”

Crossing his arms, Louis narrows his eyes at Harry. They mirror each other by biting their lips and heaving breaths of vexation. Louis wants physical contact. Harry just wants to watch his movie in peace and maybe illegally chug a whole bottle of vodka.

“You’re a dick too!”

“I wasn’t all over Nathan at the bakery.”

“I wasn’t smiling like a fool at Tom.”

Harry claws at his disheveled hair, sick of the bantering and of the direct accusations. “Can I just watch my movie? We’re done.”

“We’re done?”

“With this chapter, _please_.”

“Wait…” Louis quavers in his spot, still strikingly close to Harry. “Are you breaking up with me?”

Harry aches inside. Why would Louis think that? He simply wants the arguments to stop, not their relationship of nearly three years. “Christ, Lou.” He tugs on Louis’ hands until the boy settles on the mattress beside him. “I don’t want us to be angry anymore. I like being civilized, it’s nice.”

“So you’re not breaking up with me?”

“God no,” Harry breathes into his neck, getting closer to nibble on a soft spot. “You’re a little intense sometimes.”

~ ~ ~

Louis kisses Harry awake and whispers about an interview they can’t be late to. Harry wraps his arms around the boy to keep him from leaving the bed. He is incessant on cuddling longer in the nude and who is Louis to deny him that predilection? Not sleeping with each other the past couple nights left them needy and extra affectionate.

The level of affection drops a smidgen when Louis’ phone goes off. He smacks his palm against the bedside table until it grips the gadget interrupting their concord. Harry’s closely spooning him from behind therefore contiguous of the small screen Louis brings up to his face.

A text from Nathan: **_My flight is tmrw. Down for a meet up in the evening ? :)_**

“Excuse me?”

Louis throws his phone aside and twists in Harry’s arms to face him. He kisses pending reproach off the gaping mouth. Parting for air, Louis takes advantage of Harry being caught in a daze. “He knows about us. Him and I are just friends.” The last word leaves an after-effect on Louis’ tongue, a foreign declaration. _Friends_. Where’s the white flag?

Harry blinks no less than twenty times. “Wow.”

“Are you fine with that?”

Harry contemplates the question for a tick. Shrugging, he confesses in an easy voice, “Yeah, I don’t mind Nathan, he’s cool.”

“He is.”

“So is Tom.”

“Nope, you killed it.” Louis worms out of Harry’s hold, sticks his tongue out at him, and jumps in the shower. Harry follows shortly after.

~ ~ ~

The first interview is in fifteen minutes. Their stylist works on Louis’ hair, attempting a little swirl of the fringe while he’s bouncing in his seat and being a complete nuisance. Harry documents this with his phone and uploads the short clip to Vine—driving thousands of fans nuts. Liam was watching over his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, glad the boys patched things up.

“Tomlinson, you little shit,” Lou Teasdale says under her breath.

“He had donuts for breakfast,” Harry explains the jumpiness of his mate.

Over by the wardrobe station, Zayn disputes, “Sugary foods don’t actually cause hyperactivity, they make you feel fatigued. Tommo is a natural loon, let’s face it.”

“Hey, say it to my face punk.”

“Lou, can we have a word?”

Louis and Lou both look up to see Paul approaching them. He presses the lock button of his phone and slides it into a pocket. He points at Louis. “This one.”

Oh. This means business. Louis doesn’t like business and he’s not up for Paul putting a damper on his high spirits.  “Are you sure? This Lou,” Louis signals at the woman holding an expensive can of hairspray above his head, “is a much better candidate.”

Their manager rolls his eyes and turns to Harry. “I need you, too. It’ll be quick.”

Harry and Louis gulp. This means they’re getting a lecture pertaining to their relationship. That’s always how it goes. The last time they got a talk, Harry was forced to hang out with Rod Stewart’s daughters. Those tabloids were disgusting. Louis wrinkles his nose.

Away from everyone’s hearing range, Paul begins, “Kate called.”

“Here we go,” Louis utters. Whatever their PR representative has to say, must be important if she elected Paul as the gateway to get the news to them.

“She liked that you two hung out with those boys from The Unwanted.”

“The Wanted,” Harry swiftly corrects.

Louis loves Paul who literally has no clue how amazing he is. “Mhm, The Unwanted, go on.” Harry scowls.

“Kate heard The _Wanted_ are coming into town and would like for a repeat of a so called ‘double-date.’ You’re getting a generally good reception from it, lads. Both of your follower counts on Twitter have gone up. There’s a positive.”

“I guess we don’t want to know the negatives,” Louis deliberates.

Harry shakes his head, ruffling the style Lou worked hard to achieve. “One thing doesn’t make sense. Louis and I were asked to hide our relationship from the public because of image and the sake of our careers. Alright? But now, we’re being told to make Tomlinson-Sykes or Styles-Parker a thing… It brings about gay rumors, doesn’t it? Isn’t that what Kate and Simon have been trying to avoid? Why is it okay _now_? I—I don’t understand.”

Louis and Paul stare at Harry. He’s never said this many words on the subject. Harry takes these situations to heart. Gingerly, Louis entwines their fingers. The simple form of comfort goes a long way; Harry’s body relaxes.

Paul nods, empathy blooming in his eyes when he glances at their linked hands. “I mentioned something similar to Kate. Her rebuttal is that two boys dating within the same band is riskier.”

“But if people are going to speculate that I’m gay, judging by who I’m seen with, I want them to think I’m with Louis. It’s much closer to the truth, is it not?”

“Perhaps,” Louis pitches in sensibly, “you’re overthinking it, babe. They want us to be seen with those blokes, y’know, doing friendly things like eating in public. They’re not asking for us to like, I don’t know, hold their hand or kiss them at a doorstep.”

“Actually, Louis, that’s exactly what they’d like for you to do with that one kid.”

Harry’s never done a slow burn on a person with so much concentration before. Louis is pretty sure Paul—their tall, muscular babysitter—jumps out of his skin. Paul isn’t even the mastermind behind the newest game of: Let’s Trick the Public. Wait until Harry has a word with the true organizers.

~ ~ ~

“How was your day off yesterday, boys? Did you do anything fun in the area?”

The interviewer for Access Hollywood (Louis didn’t bother to learn her name because there are more pressing matters at hand such as getting Harry to smile for the camera) pushes her stylish glasses up the bridge of her nose where they keep slipping. She’s cute and petite; Niall seems interested. He’s answered most of her questions and probably thinks it’ll get him laid by the end of the day.

“I went to City Walk, it was cool. Got mobbed though so I had to leave early,” Niall shares in his thick Irish accent.

Slippery Glasses gapes. “Mobs, they seem scary. How do you guys deal?”

“We worry more for our fans, hope nobody gets hurt. But it happens.”

She sympathizes briefly and steers the question over to Zayn. “You were spotted at a tattoo parlor in West Hollywood. Does that mean you’ve added a new addition to your body artwork?”

Louis snorts earning a hint of a smile from Harry. Success on its way, too bad it’s on account of poor Niall because Slippery Glasses changed her tone to a seductress level for Zayn.

“Yeah, um, I got like an old tat filled because it was starting to look lame.”

“And would you be willing to show us?”

For the sake of Zayn’s honor, Louis jokes, “He can’t. It’s right on the crown jewels.”

They all laugh, even Harry, and it draws the interviewer’s attention to Louis. A mischievous smile forms on her lips. “Louis, you were spotted the other day as well.”

Members of the aristocracy, give him strength.

“Was I?”

“Yes.” She giggles. “In London, I believe? You were out with Nathan Sykes. Tell me about that. What’s going on?”

Her evil eyes bore into his. He feels the cameraman move closer to his face. Good, keep Harry out of the shot, he’s not skilled in hiding actual emotions. Louis catches Paul’s eye off to the side, the discreet nod of encouragement. “We’re having fun,” he answers cheekily.

The other boys contain their expressions, having been informed about the latest Let’s Trick the Public method barely moments before the interview commenced. Harry, he, well, he sits there and stares at his hands. Louis hopes the camera isn’t focusing on him.

“Ooh! So much fun you felt the need to invite your band mate and Tom Parker to join you two for coffee? Sharing the wealth?”

He’s going to strangle Slippery Glasses.  

“We had a good laugh, yeah. I guess sharing is caring.”

~ ~ ~

“‘Sharing is caring’? Seriously, Lou?”

“Shut up! I didn’t know what to say!”

Zayn belts out the most obnoxious chortle. “I can’t wait until the fans see it. There’s going to be so many GIFs of you with that caption.”

“Fuck off.” Louis looks to Liam for help. Just this once Liam is laughing along with Zayn and Niall. “Wait ‘til they see how she tries to get you out of your clothes.” Zayn sobers up. Louis leans into Harry whose been riding silently at his side. They pull up to KISS FM’s station for their next interview. “You okay?”

“I hate this.”

The rest of their interviews for that day go similar. At first it seems like they’ll get a break from questions about the bakery outing but the interviewers bring it up every time it seems forgotten. Louis always gives a cheeky answer to sort of insinuate something’s going on, as Kate advised through Paul. Harry remains quiet and fidgety.

~ ~ ~

Nathan enlightens Louis upon his arrival and settlement at a hotel in the east side of town. Louis cringes. Why is the guy informing him as if Louis merits the knowledge? They aren’t much of anything, barely friends (if that), despite what he told Harry. Could Nathan be getting the wrong idea in his head (Syco’s newfangled intentions aside)?

Fuck. The interviews.

The room spirals. Louis searches desperately for an anchor but Harry isn’t present, he’s shopping with Teasdale. Louis’ a dolt, he didn’t bother to warn Nathan about the hints he’d been dropping to the press and to anyone with half a brain that Tomlinson-Sykes might be engrossed in a fling. On his way to meet up with Nathan, Louis mentally practices what he’s going to say. He needs to sound as convincing as possible.

The web is spinning all over the place.

Preston escorts Louis past a small group of girls on the sidewalk in front of Pink’s Hollywood. He was in the mood for hotdogs and Nathan was quick to concede. The girls that Louis can still see standing outside the popular bistro jump up and down with excitement the moment they see Nathan show up. They must be supporters of the pair. It’s amusing. Thank goodness Preston is there to keep them in order.

“Louis!”

“Hey, Nate.”

The boy sits down across from Louis with a grin. “You called me Nate.”

Whoop for joy. Bless the stars. Louis suppresses an arrogant smirk.

Four chili cheese dogs and a large order of curly fries later, they slouch in their seats, satisfied. Louis wonders if Niall has tried Pink’s yet; he would love it. The group of fans that started off as five has recently expanded to an estimate of twenty. The word spreads quickly, that’s one thing Louis will never get used to. He knows some of them have their camera phones pointing in the direction of the pair having lunch. With great skill, Louis slides his hand across the table and takes Nathan’s as a false show that they’ve done this before.  

This feels like a repeat of the Tomlinson-Calder calamity.

“There’s something you should know.”

Nathan blanches.

“A couple of interviews are going to air soon and I want you to hear it from me first.”

“What did you say? Is it bad?” Nathan leans forward, keeping Louis’ hand in his.

“I’ve been asked about you—about you and me. People are going to think we’re dating because of my answers.” He internally winces, awaiting a reaction.

“Are we?”

That was easy. “I’d like that.”

“What about Harry? You still have feelings for him, don’t you?”

“Not the same as what I’m feeling now.” Somebody quick! Give this boy an Oscar!

A spontaneous action by Nathan sends Louis further into the Tomlinson Labyrinth. He’s pretty sure the girls watching their every move are going into cardiac arrest. What a burden for Preston out there. The footage will be up within minutes and soon the whole world will know for sure that Louis Tomlinson likes men. For some it’ll be devastating that Harry Styles isn’t the object of his tender regard. What a great way to come out.


	10. a moral agent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fake displays, fly balls, puzzle construction, and swollen lips. Louis is making a mess of things. Harry isn't as clueless as one would think.

@lourry5vr: **When @TomlinNah and I were craving hotdogs we didn’t expect to see @Louis_Tomlinson and @NathanTheWanted !!** [48 minutes ago]

@TomlinNah: **@lourry5vr I wish they’d allow us in at least! I’m so hungry. Great view of cute boys amirite ;)** [43 minutes ago]

@PerezHilton: **A source is telling me that @onedirection @Louis_Tomlinson is cozied up with @NathanTheWanted at this moment! STAY TUNED perez.ly/…** [29 minutes ago]

@RivahNivah96: **@lourry5vr @TomlinNah WHAT IS GOING ON?!! IS IT TRUE LOUIS IS AT PINKS?** [26 minutes ago]

@lourry5vr: **@RivahNivah88 @TomlinNah YES!!! There r like 10 other girls here but they’re not letting anyone go inside :(** [22 minutes ago]

@TomlinNah: **OMG OMG OMG THEY’RE HOLDING HANDS HOLY SHIT THIS IS NOT A DRILL** [14 minutes ago]

@LeWandaHoran: **if you’re not watching the cutest bromance enjoying lunch in Hollywood, you ain’t it #somanyfangirls** [13 minutes ago]

@frrrickyeh: **@LeWandaHoran LUCKY! But u sure it’s just a bromance ?? #NathanSykes has looked smitten lately…** [11 minutes ago]

@HaroldStyleMyFace: **Idk who that other guy is but Louis Tomlinson is totally displaying a different side of him omfg #ishipit** [8 minutes ago]

@lourry5evr: **OMFG NATHAN KISSED LOUIS WE’RE ALL SHITTING OURSELVES OUT HERE ASJHFDWEWQDHFCDWF AHHHH** [3 minutes ago]

@PerezHilton: **@Louis_Tomlinson and @NathanTheWanted are dating! It’s been confirmed by my source and a couple of fans! WATCH IT HERE perez.ly/…** [57 seconds ago]

**~ ~ ~**

Nathan’s lips leave a burning sensation against the corner of Louis’ mouth. He forces himself to not immediately wipe it off. It wasn’t quite the kiss that the fans outside must be screaming over (Pink’s should invest in soundproof windowpanes) but it wouldn’t make a difference nonetheless. The story of what happened on this day will be altered and manipulated by the time Louis pulls on his pajamas later, _even_ with the proper proof in the hands of their witnesses. Thanks to modern technology, Louis’ first public intimate gay moment will be invading all social media sites within a couple of minutes if they haven’t already. The worst part is not the pending judgments and criticism, it’s the fact that Louis won’t be sharing this monumental moment with Harry.

Louis needs to notify Harry before Jackass Parker beats him to it again. But who knows when he’ll get a chance? Nathan’s watching closely with soft eyes, awaiting a remark over what just transpired. Louis steels himself and plasters a fake smile. “How crazy do you think things are going to get?”

“As long as we don’t let any of it get to us, it’ll be fine.”

~ ~ ~

Fine? It is not going to be fine. The first repercussion that Louis is faced with is a call from Simon. He always freaks out when the man himself reaches out to one of them. _Buckle up Tommo_. Louis excuses himself, claiming he can’t miss this important call from his mum.

“ _Loui_ s?”

Tentatively Louis goes, “Yes?”

“ _There’s no point in beating around the bush. I’ve seen the footage. I’m shocked you jumped into it with Sykes so quickly_.”

He saw it that quick? It’s nice to know that someone is always keeping an eye on his every move. Should be creepy. “You know me, I get it done fast… Wait, scratch that. I mean—”

“ _Louis, I only have a few seconds. I was just calling to let you know that Kate will be controlling your Twitter account for the remainder of your stay in LA_.”

“What for?”

“ _She’s going to handle this situation in a mature way I’m sure you aren’t prepared for_. _No offense, of course_.”

“None taken?”

“ _Excellent_. _If any fan or reporter goes up to you on the street or anywhere, ignore all questions pertaining to the situation, for now. Duck your head and move along. We want this to go over well, so, the less words out of you, the better_.”

Louis is starting to believe that Simon thinks him incapable of carrying out a simple task when he’s the original mastermind behind this. Well, it was Zayn who put the idea into his head but Louis’ the one making the most effort. Simon isn’t aware why this thing with Nathan started in the first place although he’s had no problem twisting it into a publicity scam. The man is all about business and protocol. The boy is all about revenge and scheming. You’d think they were related.

Maybe he should call his mummy, Louis should reassure her that Harry is still her in the running to be her future son-in-law.

~ ~ ~

Getting out of the hotdog joint is a nightmare—the second repercussion Louis is faced with. Preston raises his voice and acts a bit aggressively so that the crown on the sidewalk can allow Louis and Nathan (hand-in-hand) get through. Some people throw questions and comments at them. Neither boy replies. At least two paparazzi try to shove cameras in their faces. Louis keeps his head down and his face impassive.

“So that’s what it feels like to get mobbed...” Nathan looks out the back of the SUV they finally managed to get in for shelter. “There must have been more than fifty people,”

Louis heard homophobic slurs out there. A feeling of shame wells up inside him from the antagonistic impact that a couple of verbal slams have caused. Enough acting skills and confidence cannot make up for the belittling. He should have thought this through—should have calculated the results better.

“Why are people so—so fucking cruel?”

“Louis,” Nathan says. He rubs Louis’ arm in the slowest motion that grates on Louis’ nerves but also relaxes them. “Don’t pay attention to the cruel. Pay attention to the decent. Just in passing I heard many fans shouting their support. That’s what counts, the people who understand. Don’t focus on the few homophobic arseholes that you’ll run into from time to time. The people that support you will always be constants in your life and only they matter.”

“How are you so at ease about this?” Louis asks in awe. _You’re very wise_ , he inwardly adds.

“Because homophobia shouldn’t exist in the twenty-first century.”

Louis takes note to get that tattooed somewhere on his body where only one other person will ever see it. _His love_. He wishes he could be as bold as Nathan, as careless as Harry. No matter how much he’s loved Harry, Louis hasn’t been able to fully come to term with his own sexuality. Before he went on The X-Factor, Louis was happily part of a heterosexual relationship. But then Harry happened. They clicked on the get-go and everything just felt _right_ : the touches; the closeness; the stolen glances; the sexual tension. Louis’ girlfriend was forgotten and replaced with whom he believes to be his soul mate, gender never being a factor.

A few months back, they had issues that were left unresolved. Harry was ready to come out to the world and admit he’s been seeing Louis, as many have suspected. Harry was willing to go against the wishes of Modest! and of Simon, their current future-holders, to love Louis freely. To his dismay, Louis wasn’t ready and refused to come out to the world. As a moral agent in the principal of things, Louis weighed out the pros and cons, paid closer attention to the cons, and concluded that their large audience would generally disgrace them. Then they would stop supporting the group and it would all go downhill from there. Harry didn’t see it that way.

Still doesn’t.

What now? Louis hardly hesitated with Nathan whom he definitely has no feelings for. He could have stopped the public kiss from happening. No one was pointing a gun to his head. Meanwhile, Harry remains in the closet, far within to be seen or heard. Louis wishes he can hold his hand out and wait for Harry to clutch it to get a quick exit too. Sadly, the reality is that Louis went too far this time. Louis didn’t make the sacrifice for Harry and now it seems like he did it for Simon and Kate’s ambitions. At least Louis knows the real reason why he’s in this mess—for tactic in the game of spite. But how will he ever explain that to Harry?   

~ ~ ~

“Are you sure you’re free to hang, mate? I know you’re making an appearance on The Tonight Show.”

Harry pulls open the mini fridge in his hotel room and examines it. “We don’t have to be there until six. Want a drink?” When he was returning from shopping with Lou Teasedale, Harry invited Tom to meet him at the hotel so they could hang out before more band responsibilities start up for the second half of the day.

“Anything’s cool,” Tom replies as he perches himself on the edge of the bed. “This place is sick. It’s nicer than the shit hotel our team booked last minute. We weren’t originally going to make it to the Teen Choice Awards.”

“Why not?” Harry hands him a fizzy drink and retrieves another for himself.

“Thanks. Erm, well, we were invited as a ‘oh, there’s space for you lot, come on by.’”

“That’s so rude.”

“Bet you guys never get that treatment.”

He can’t help but stare at his feet, flushing slightly. Harry doesn’t understand why The Wanted gets less recognition by America’s media industry. They produce interesting pop music and have a good fan base behind them. In his mind, there’s no reason for One Direction to be on top. They should be equals. Harry’s feeling apologetic and lousy towards Tom and his group. That’s not a good combination after watching Louis leave the hotel to meet up with Nathan, looking like sex on well-toned legs.

“Can we talk about something else?”

If Tom picks up on his change in mood, he doesn’t mention it. “So… Nathan told me he was going to meet up with Tomlinson.”

This subject isn’t any better, _dammit_! Harry assumes Tom has no idea that Louis is his. Up to this point, Tom hasn’t asked about it. And is it a bad thing? That Louis told Nathan and Harry hasn’t told Tom?

Because that’s one thing he’s not willing to share yet.

Harry has learned a lot about Tom during the time they’ve become regular texting buddies. He knows a bit about his childhood and his family before he pursued a music career. He knows Tom’s favorite season, favorite football team, favorite food, and favorite song. He’s been given an insight on who Tom really is—which is nothing like the person Louis and Zayn make him out to be or the way the media portrays him, as nothing but a party animal.

Tom has learned about Harry’s childhood, too. He knows his bad habits, pet peeves, and weaknesses (excluding naked Louis). He’s asked about rumors that have painted Harry in several different lights. Tom now knows which rumors were false, which were correct. The only rumor he seems to avoid asking about is the “Larry Stylinson” one. Eventually, when he feels he can trust Tom one hundred percent, Harry will tell him just how true that one is.

They sit and dish about their band mates. Nothing terrible, only share funny stories and fond memories. Harry can tell that Tom loves his boys almost as much as Harry loves his own. He’s glad they’re going through similar stages in their lives, it creates the friendship dynamic of: we-can-both-relate-because-we- _know_ -what-it’s-like.

Tom’s having a laughing spree over Harry’s tale of Louis and his smelly feet. Harry can hardly get full sentences out because Tom’s laugh is very contagious. They sober up when the door to the room clicks shut in an echo. Harry gets up to check.

~ ~ ~

Louis and Preston drop Nathan off at the hotel he’s staying in for the weekend. The boy leans over for a kiss but Louis turns his head away and the incoming lips land on his cheek instead. Nathan frowns but doesn’t protest. Louis faces forward in his seat after Fake Boyfriend gets out of the car. He catches Preston’s watchful eyes in the rearview mirror.

“What?” he asks quite childishly, feeling a lecture coming on.

Preston simply shakes his head and says, “You might hurt that boy.”

If the man’s claim does anything to jumble up Louis’ stomach, he makes no sign of it. He blinks back and waits to be driven to their hotel. He needs to see Real Boyfriend as soon as possible. He wants to tell him about the day’s events and assure him that the kiss from Nathan meant absolutely nothing. It’s all for show, he’ll tell him. It won’t be hard to convince him at this point since Harry knows what Simon and Kate want from Louis. He figures that he can fend off the whole I-came-out-of-the-closet-with-someone-else issue by pointing out that he won’t directly admit he’s gay. Because he’s gay, right? An image of Harry sprawled out on his back with Louis’ pre-cum on his lips comes to mind. If he isn’t gay he’s definitely Harry-sexual.

He rehearses exactly how he’s going to face Harry and what he’ll say to evade another argument (those things are tiring, man!). At the door to Harry’s room, Louis remembers he was given a room key to it this morning and fetches it from his wallet. After the small light turns green with the insert of the card, Louis cracks open the door quietly. He’s going to creep up on Harry and scare him just because he hasn’t messed with him in a while. However, the sound of laughter interrupts his devious thoughts and keeps him from further entering the room. From where he stands, he can’t see Harry (although he can hear him talking about Louis’ reluctance for wearing socks) but he can see his company in a fit of giggles. A twist of his insides is the push he warrants to get him out of the room and walking furiously down the hotel corridor of the eleventh floor. Louis heads toward Zayn’s room which is down the way and to the left.

He’s not moving fast enough, and he knows this, but it’s hard to travel quickly when you’ve got jealousy and irritation bubbling up in your blood. He _actually_ wants to evade an argument. Harry, plainly, doesn’t get it and catches up to Louis only seconds after he left the room.

“Babe, hold on,” Harry says, grabbing Louis by the waist. It’s a good thing their team booked the whole floor for privacy. Not having to worry about eavesdroppers is a relief. Harry spins his fleeing boyfriend around and meets him with a panicked expression. “We weren’t doing anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Louis painfully holds back a nasty comment. He raises an eyebrow. “I wasn’t thinking anything.”

“Oh.” Harry releases him. He runs a shaky hand through his hair. “Why did you run off?”

“Zayn’s waiting for me,” Louis lies.

“Can I come?”

“Don’t be rude, you have someone waiting for you.”

Louis turns to go but Harry stops him, again taking him by the waist. “How did it go? With—with um, Nathan?”

So he hasn’t been on the internet? Tom hasn’t either or he would have told Harry… As their vocal coach, Savan, always tells them, _rehearsal is everything, no rehearsal is nothing_. Thankfully Louis rehearsed. “We were spotted by a bunch of fans. If you see or hear anything about us kissing, don’t believe it, okay?”

Almost all of Harry’s body goes still except for his fingers which dig into Louis’ skin. “Why would people feel the need to spread that around?”

“Funny that…” Louis laughs drily, inviting Harry to join in. Harry crosses his arms. “He—Nathan may have kissed me—”

“WHAT?”

“You’re probably thinking it was a full on kiss, Harold, but it was hardly anything. It barely counts. You know how people like to stretch the truth, well, they’ll be doing that.”

“He touched you,” is all Harry says. His voice is low and as morbid as ever, a rabid dog waiting to pounce.

“Briefly. It was weird, anyways.” Louis wipes at the corner of his mouth to highlight his point. “I’m sure it worked, though. Everyone will think him and I are together. It was all for show.”

“But you’re not together.”

“We’re not.” Louis gently drags a finger along his jaw. “Don’t keep your friend waiting. I’ll see you later, love.” He tiptoes to kiss Harry’s forehead and goes straight to Zayn’s room, forcefully not turning back. He acknowledges that he basically guilt-tripped Harry into letting the kiss with Nathan slide.

All is fair in love and war. That applies here fairly, right?

Zayn doesn’t answer his door right away. By the time he does, Louis’ kicked at it over ten times. “Is this becoming a routine? Whenever you fallout with Harry, you come to me? One would think I’d be cheering you up sexually, eh mate?”

“Shut up,” Louis deadpans. He slips past Zayn and stretches out on his unmade bed. Covering his face with an arm, Louis mumbles, “You haven’t gone online, have you?”

“To watch you and Nathan kiss for the umpteenth time? Definitely not.”

Louis sits up and furiously throws a pillow at his friend. “We didn’t kiss!”

Dodging the harmless object, Zayn hops onto the bed and flicks Louis’ nose. “Okay, bro.”

“Idiot.” Louis shoves his hand away. “Where are Liam and Niall?”

“In Josh’s room I think. The band arrived a while ago.”

“Let’s all go out for a bit, then.” Louis will be damned if he sits around waiting for Harry’s company to get the fuck out.

“Without Harry?”

Louis leans back on his elbows, mustering a long sigh. “He’s busy with Tom at the moment.”

“Cute.”

“Zayn, it’s pissing me off that I can’t do anything about it yet. I barely lured Nathan into the trap but he hasn’t opened up enough to give me any dirt on Tom. How the hell is our plan supposed to work if he literally has _nothing_ bad to say about anyone?”

“This plan is all yours.” Zayn holds up his hands. “I told you already, I’m not getting involved anymore. I passed on the baton.”

“You can’t back out now.” Louis pouts. “I need your help, babe.”

“Don’t make that face.” Right when he says that, Louis gets impossibly close and pulls his best impression of Liam’s puppy dog face. “Fuck! Okay, okay! Just give Nathan more time to get comfortable with you. Meanwhile, we can pull a few pranks on Tom. Just stop making that face.”

Louis places sloppy kisses on Zayn’s cheeks.

“You’re going to have to cut that shit out before I tell Harry you’re trying to seduce me.”

“I love you,” Louis throws offhandedly.

“I know, I know. So Parker, he’ll be at the Teen Choice Awards, yeah? Remember when we went on The X-Factor tour and Liam split his pants on stage? Remember who caused that…”

“Of course I remember; you’re a legend! Did you ever tell Liam it was you?”

Zayn smiles sheepishly. They bump their fists together and there’s nothing else to discuss. The first order of business is set, next they’re going to round up their other friends to enjoy a few hours of reckless behavior before they’re due to meet with Jay Leno.

Niall answers the door to Josh’s room. He levels Louis with a knowing stare. Liam does the same less than five seconds later. Josh and the rest of the band hardly look up from their game of poker. They’re sitting on the floor with cards and coins spread out in front of them. Louis looks over Josh’s shoulder and gives away his hand resulting in a win for Sandy.

“The hell, Tomlinson?” Josh throws his cards at Louis who cackles madly. “Prick.”

“I say we go out boys.”

“Don’t we have to rehearse?” Dan and Sandy ask at the same time.

Josh nods along, “Yeah, we’ve never played this song live befo—”

“There will be time,” Louis interjects before their bass player, guitarist, and drummer change everyone else’s mind. Liam, Niall, and Zayn seem interested in going out. Louis turns to their pianist who hasn’t said a word. “Jon, you in?”

“Where to?”

“I don’t know. Any suggestions?”

“Wait, why aren’t you with Nathan anymore?” Niall questions.  Louis’ adding him to _the list_ soon. And then he remembers his little Irish pal was the one who read Nathan’s tweet aloud the night Harry kicked him out.

“Because we’re not attached at the hip, God!” Louis throws his arms up. “Fine, if you lot want to stay here and stare at a bunch of boring cards, be my guests.”

Naturally, as Louis has the most powerful influence over the people in his life, the whole group (except for Harry) ends up ditching the hotel in search of something interesting to do near Burbank where The Tonight Show is filmed. Well, they don’t really ditch since they’re obligated to inform Paul of their whereabouts and have to wait for a couple of their bodyguards to escort them. God knows they can’t go anywhere without needing human shields to keep female hysteria in check.

Zayn and Niall argue over places they should go. Louis watches them in amusement, waiting for one of them to give up and allow the other to make the verdict.

To his left, Liam pats Louis’ shoulder. He probably wishes he would have gone in the separate car with Josh and the others.

“I texted Harry.”

Liam _would_ , he would! “Why?”

“I don’t want him thinking we’re leaving him out because you’re mad at him.”

“I’m not mad at him!” With that, Niall and Zayn quiet down and turn to Louis, both displaying disbelieving looks. “What? I’m not.”

“So this has nothing to do with the fact that you rushed us to the lift furthest away from Harry’s room?”

When Liam questions Louis’ motives, he makes him sound ridiculous, like he’s gone off his mind. Maybe he’s just a possessive boyfriend who rather get scorched by fire than wait for Harry to, like, invite Tom to join them or something.

He looks out the window and catches a mini golf course along the side of the freeway. “Paul! Paul! Stop here, please!”

~ ~ ~

Sherman Oaks Castle Park is shit. Louis regrets convincing Paul to bring them here. He hasn’t made any hole-in-ones. Even Zayn has made a couple, Zayn who isn’t a fan of golf, nonetheless mini golf. Niall accidentally whacks a worker with his golf club, almost getting them kicked out. If Paul hadn’t acted as a mediator, they’d probably be banned for life.

Louis is rethinking every decision he’s ever made when a hand ghosts up his spine. He jolts slightly but doesn’t make a move to find out who’s touching him. It could be Zayn for all he cares. The person with no sense of personal space leans in to whisper in his ear, tickling Louis with hair that is too wild to belong to anyone but Harry. “Thanks for the invite.”

Fortunately, Liam is over by the batting cages with Sandy and Dan so he’s not around to call Louis out on a white lie. “I told Liam to invite you.” He turns to grin at Harry. His face falls. As he’d predicted would happen, Tom is standing a few feet away, watching Niall curse at the ball he merely missed.

Now Louis seriously regrets coming here. He overlooked the opportunity to bring Nathan who would distract Louis from having to behold Harry teach Tom how to properly position a golf club in his hands. Seriously? The twenty-five year old loser is going to stand there and pretend he can’t do something so simple as holding a fucking piece of golf equipment? And Harry’s going to play along and act like he’s a skilled player? Right in front of Louis? Okay.

~ ~ ~

Niall didn’t achieve it because Paul was there to sort things out. This time, Louis gets it done—he gets them thrown out of the park. He didn’t mean to, but, that doesn’t mean he’s disappointed in himself. Zayn discreetly fist bumps him while Harry’s trying to see if Tom is okay.

Christ, all Louis did was swing a little harshly during his turn at the batting cage. He may have aimed off to the side where Tom was actively involved in a conversation with Harry. The baseball bounced off of Tom’s face and hit an employee on the back of the head. How the ball even made it out of the batting cage and to where Tom was stood is something Louis can’t even explain himself. Luck of the Irish, he’ll say since Niall was cheering him on before the incident.

The Castle Park took Louis’ fly ball to offense and added it to the damage that Niall accidentally inflicted on a different staff member. At the time, Paul and Andy were dealing with a couple of fans that cornered Liam and Josh by the food court.

The flaw in Louis’ unplanned attack is the attention Tom is getting from Harry. It was a hit from a ball! Not a bullet! Tom’s trying to hide his face in his hands but Harry won’t let him and insists they get him some ice from the food court to hold over the swelling. Louis doesn’t see any swelling; all he sees is a grown-ass man on the verge of tears.

“Lou, babe,” Zayn whispers, “I didn’t think you had it in you. That was impressive. I hope Max felt it from wherever the hell he is.”

“But all it’s done is drawn Harry to him. Look!” Louis points at Harry as he holds up a small baggie filled with ice to Tom’s left eye. “He’s acting like some fucking knight in shining armor.”

“Hey, at least now Tom will have a nice look for the TCA’s, don’t you think?”

“It won’t bruise…”

“I’m positive it will. Wonder how you’ll explain that one.”

“Shit, what if he says I gave it him?”

~ ~ ~

To Louis and Zayn’s most utter shock, Tom lies about his black-eye upon the first time it falls under someone’s scrutiny, right outside the studios at NBC. He says he was struck by a ball (which is obviously true) before he was ready for it (also true) but because he got distracted whilst batting (the outright lie). Zayn nudges Louis and mutters, “safe.”

Why Tom is still with them is Harry’s doing. If Louis looks at it from an outsider’s point of view, all he’s done is push Harry and Tom closer together. From an insider’s perspective, Tom is playing Harry with the damsel-in-distress card. Nothing has ever been more patent. Harry has only looked at Louis with narrowed eyes since they left Sherman Oaks. He even rode in the back of the SUV with Tom and an uncomfortable Niall.

 _Whatever_ , Louis just wants to get their quick appearance on The Tonight Show over with so that he can take Nathan out to dinner, show Harry he has a new friend too.

Jay Leno is very welcoming with the boys and cracks a couple of jokes within three minutes of meeting them. He’s got Niall doubled-over and that’s enough to win all of their hearts. In the dressing room, Louis ignores the irritant sitting on Harry’s designated makeup chair. Before Jay exits the room to begin shooting his monologue for the show, he locks eyes with Louis and conspicuously glances at Tom and Harry over in the other corner. Louis blinks and Jay is gone. He hopes he imagined that and prays there will be zero mention of the current love triangle at play.

The rest of the boys warm up their voices while Lou applies concealer to Louis’ under eyes. “You’re looking a bit tired, love,” she blandly admits. “I reckon you’ve been stressing.”

“With him around,” Louis says under his breath. Out of his peripheral vision he catches the pleased look on Harry’s face when Tom compliments his voice.

Lou frowns. “You’re both being dickheads…And sweetie, I was referring to the stunt you pulled with Nathan earlier.”

“Oh. I’m afraid to go on Twitter to be completely honest. People are probably trending horrific things on there.”

“Actually, they’re not. I’ve seen tremendous support. Give a little look and you’ll see.”

Louis’ heart jumps in his chest sharply, reminding him it’s still the same heart that he grew up with. He’s the same boy. All that’s changed is that people are now clued in on his sexuality (for those who needed visuals).

“Do you think I’m gay?”

Lou coos sarcastically. “If you’re not, I want a refund.”

~ ~ ~

During their first live performance of Irresistible, Louis feels a surge of pride at how well their band is able to make it sound like they practiced more than a dozen times. They didn’t. Partly Louis’ fault, partly Liam’s for wanting to perform that song on this particular day. It was too late to choose a different song by the time they all debated properly because innocent Niall let the news slip during a webcam session last week with thousands of fans watching. The excitement spread like wildfire since then and now they’re living the consequence of Niall’s big mouth.

Consequence or not, their backing band gives the melody an edgier sound, all of their harmonies melt together, and Harry’s raspy voice (most importantly in Louis’ priorities) dominates the entire piece. That sets loads of feelings loose inside his stomach. By the end of it, Louis wants to run and hug him, give his boyfriend all the love and praise he deserves.

Jay sends the show on a commercial break. When he does so, Tom approaches them backstage and does exactly what Louis imagined in his head. Tom runs to hug Harry, knocking the wind out of him and sending the unsuspecting boy into a giggle-fest.

Louis is going to summons some motherfucking demon-killing, war ensemble to stop Tom from doing friendly things with Harry but then there’s a body encasing his own and he stumbles forward. If it’s Zayn’s attempt to distract him… Nope, it’s not Zayn’s attempt. Louis realizes this when he looks down at the pale, ink-free arms encircling his middle. It’s Nathan who he turns to and it’s Nathan’s lips that press against Louis’. He doesn’t move, doesn’t breathe, and just accepts the fact that Nathan is kissing him with the band as witness. With Harry and Tom only an arm’s length away.

A very unmanly cough (Harry’s probably) breaks into the barrier of Louis’ astounded mind. Louis separates his face from Nathan to find everyone and their mother staring at him. Baffled, they all are. Harry’s eyebrows are furrowed and his jaw is so tense a knife wouldn’t cut through. He resembles Zayn’s morning persona. Louis almost laughs at the comparison but hey, this isn’t a time for jokes no matter how hard he wants to throw it out there. Nathan becomes aware of Harry and the dangerous set to his eyes and possessively wraps an arm around Louis’ waist. Who gave him the right? Louis gazes at Nathan, his fake boyfriend, and anxiety hits. What is Louis supposed to do now? Kiss him back? Lean into his touch? Thank him for being affectionate?

The worst issue at hand—the one at the top of the list is: Harry thinks it’s all artificial while Nathan thinks it’s organic! You know, if Louis were shopping at a supermarket, these would be the correct terms to use.

Shiitake mushrooms.

“Wh—what are you d—doing here?” _Smooth, Tomlinson, hand back the Oscar, DiCaprio won’t stand for this._

“Wanted to surprise you… And Preston cleared me in at the entrance so…” Nathan’s answering smile is pleased and graceful that it’s blinding Louis, giving him a massive headache. He wants out. Right now. He’s feeling pressure from all sides to keep up a different image for each person tuning in. How is he supposed to react in this setting?

“ _You might hurt that boy_.” _Yeah, okay Preston. And now you’re enabling the so-called “hurt” by assisting this type of behavior to befall._  

“Guys, it’s time to film the interview. Jay’s already on set,” Paul announces from somewhere behind Louis. Bless his timing.

The boys filter past Louis and Nathan: first Liam who frowns like he just watched the end to a sad film; then Niall, expressionless, the donut; an unimpressed Zayn; and a livid Harry who knocks shoulders with Louis. _Ouch_.

Nathan squeezes his waist before releasing him to go follow the others, completely unaware of how much trouble he just caused for Louis. “What happened to your face?” is the last thing Louis hears him say.

Louis sits beside Harry, in the only empty seat on the couch provided for them. It’s a tight fit and he’s pretty sure Harry inches away from him to press closer to Zayn on his left, same thing Louis did on the night of the premiere. Louis’ head is pounding. Harry seeking comfort from Zayn is odd. Zayn is Louis’ escape, not Harry’s. How did they get to this point?

Odd.

Louis misses the cue for the cameras to start rolling and hopes his face doesn’t give him away—the face of someone who has monumentally fucked up and didn’t think Nathan would be brave enough to ever kiss Louis in front of Harry. It was one thing when he was kissing him in front of fans, another thing for him to do it in front of Louis’ supposed “ex.”

Jay asks them generic questions about the album and upcoming events or some shit, not that any of it is registering in Louis’ mind. Appreciatively, Liam and Niall tackle most of the inquiries, Zayn actually inputting answers here and there. Normally Harry would be animated and focused on the interview but the shine in his eyes from earlier is gone; can be perceived on the monitor across from them. He’s paying as little attention as Louis whom wishes to snake a hand over to touch Harry.

Suddenly everyone’s looking at the pair as Jay finishes saying (the only part Louis hears), “…so is your bromance still alive?”

What?

He can’t remember what it feels like to breathe easily. The muscle in his jaw spasms and keeps his mouth shut tight. _Fuck_ , was that visible? Their fans are legitimately alert when they watch interviews, catch onto every little thing, overanalyze it, and create GIFs for friendly reminders that the boys are real humans who react to real human affairs. Who knew? Anyhow, Louis saw this coming. He can recognize a tell-tale sign when someone is about to ruin you. Jay’s lingering gaze on Louis as he was about to exit the dressing room was the warning before the storm.

Wait a minute. The real question should be directed at Jay Leno. Since when does he care for gossip? Isn’t he a comedian that makes jabs at celebrities and other comical stuff? The man shouldn’t be concerned over the well-being of Harry and Louis’ alleged “bromance.” None of this makes sense.

Harry shifts, probably sensing that Louis is at a loss for words (for once in his life). Louis is usually the one who takes on the role of claiming “it’s a conspiracy of fan fiction” whenever _Larry Stylinson_ is ever mentioned. Haphazardly, Louis is too far gone to weasel them out of this one. So Harry speaks up, eyes directed at Jay, “Truth is we have lots of _friends_ outside of this band. That doesn’t mean any of us are so insecure in our friendships that we’d like, get jealous of someone new.”

Louis swallows thickly. The day that Harry Styles gives a convincing response to a Larry-related inquest without giving anything away whilst making flawless eye contact is a day that shall be recorded into every 2013 almanac in the world. Louis makes a note of pre-ordering his.

The shit storm has cleared up and Jay changes the direction of the rest of the interview to a favorable twist, involving the boys in his popular segment, “Sold or Not Sold?”

~ ~ ~

In the dressing room, where they gather their things and admire the mugs Jay personalized for each of them, Louis seeks Harry’s eyes. The familiar green orbs are adamant on not meeting his. He’s desperate to know whether he’ll be sleeping alone tonight or not. Celebratory sex over an auspicious performance of “Irresistible” should be in order. Also, strangely, the fact that Harry handled the Larry question so well seems to be Louis’ new kink. He’s fucked. Ha, would like to be soon.

Praise the good-dealings of their manager that Tom and Nathan are outside waiting in the SUVs instead of loitering in the dressing room. Paul is a true homie; Louis’ going to have to arrange a fruit basket for him. Or persuade Liam to make one. The short-term lack of The Unwanted gives Louis a ground to work on if he’s slick enough. For tonight, ha. Perhaps Louis should spend less time scheming and more time on the Tomlinson Book of Gutters.

“Hazza,” Louis says with caution.

Harry doesn’t look up from his phone. “Hm?”

“You did well out there.”

No bestowal. “Is this about our performance or my shuck and jive?”

“Shuck and what?”

“Tom uses that in place of dissimilation.”

 _Now_ Harry looks up, despicably concerned over a fucking word Louis has never personally heard form part of regular human speech. Is Tom a part-time English teacher? Louis will have to consult Zayn for a little vocabulary lesson. For the meantime, Louis stares at him, at how Harry’s face becomes devoid of emotion after their eyes meet. _Proceed with caution_ , Louis reminds himself. “I repeat, what?” Forget caution.

“Never mind! Look, he’s waiting for me.”

“Who? Tom? What, is he going to read you a bedtime story with a dictionary?”

“Don’t be a smartass.”

“Lou doesn’t know the meaning of dissimilation, I’m pretty sure that cancels out ‘smartass’ from his résumé,” Zayn butts in. Tearing his eyes away from Harry, Louis finds that everyone’s been tuning in on their standoffish exchange. It’s a bit cynical but he wants to add Zayn to the list right under Niall and Preston’s names (yes, Preston has been added as well).

“Alright, kids, settle down. We need to clear this room.” No one makes a move. “ Now ,” Paul emphasizes with a note of finality to his voice.

~ ~ ~

Nathan is the only one who accompanies Louis back to the hotel. Everyone else is still pumped from the taping of The Tonight Show to end the day early. The sun sets while the pair endures traffic with Preston and it’s nightfall by the time they make it to the W hotel. Louis drags Nathan up to his room and shuts out all the inner-wonderings over what exactly Harry will be getting up to tonight. Clearing things up with Nathan before this gets further out of hand is Louis’ current antecedence.

“Louis, what’s wrong? You were quiet the whole way here. Is it something I did?”

BEYOND DOUBT . “Why did you kiss me?”

Nathan’s eyes do a thing where they grow wide and then narrow in no time’s notice. “Because that’s what people do when they date.” This is the first hint of hostility Louis has ever received from Nathan’s end and he isn’t sure he likes it.

Even so, Louis counters with, “They also have respect for people’s exes.”

Nathan deflates. “Shit, Harry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Honestly?”

“Honestly. I forgot he was there. I was too caught up in wanting to congratulate you I—I didn’t—you think I’d kiss you in front of Harry on purpose? You think that low of me?”

The table has turned so quickly Louis doesn’t remember it being easily rotatable. His mouth opens and words spill out in a discharge of subconscious thoughts that Louis has been tucking into the furthest corner of his brain. “I actually think highly of you! You’re disgustingly sweet about everything; you’re always smiling and blushing when I look at you. I haven’t found any flaw except the fact that you’re friends with—never mind that. You know how to carry a note. You’re very wise. There’s something inspirational about what you said earlier, that homophobia shouldn’t exist in this century and I think you’re right and lovely and I think I really want to kiss you, is that okay?”

He doesn’t get an approval; Nathan mutely surges onward and attaches himself to Louis’ mouth, first in a rough, exertive kiss, and then in a delicate motion that feels like an apology. They kiss for an hour maybe. That’s all they do. At the midway point, Louis relaxes back on his bed and tugs Nathan down with him, keeping their lips expertly locked. Nathan falls asleep first, draped across Louis’ clothed chest, breathing steadily.

~ ~ ~

Harry hasn’t stayed still since they left NBC’s studios. They all went for dinner (including Tom) at a fancy restaurant in Beverly Hills where Niall insisted on paying for everyone’s expensive meal. None of them held any qualms because Niall is usually the freeloader that snags their food and tries to lie about it. Under the table, Harry’s legs erratically shook until the boys were convinced they were experiencing their first American earthquake. Tom’s hand discreetly settled over one of Harry’s thighs and he convinced everyone it’s in his nature to prank people at tables. It doesn’t make much sense that Tom would feel plenty comfortable to be pranking them but Zayn shrugs and jokingly threatens to get him back before their trip is over. Harry hopes Zayn is joking because lately, he doesn’t know whether to trust Zayn or not since it seems that Louis can’t be trusted either and seeing that the two idiots are the closest in the group as of late…

“You wanna see if we can get into a local club? I can get us drinks and slip them to you,” Tom offers as they exit Spago’s. The proposition was directed at Harry but Niall interjects, agreeing it’s a good idea because though Josh and the rest of the band are of age to buy alcohol, they’ll most likely get grilled for passing on drinks to the under-agers. Tom would least likely be suspected. “You just paid for my dinner, how could I refuse you?”

Niall beams at him. “You’re not completely horrible, Parker. Maybe we can be friends.”

Zayn rolls his eyes as he lights a cigarette. “I’m only going so I can pull.” To highlight the fact that he isn’t too keen on spending time with Tom, he takes a long drag of his cancer stick and blows the smoke in Tom’s direction.

“You sure that’s a good idea, Zayn? Last time you did that in this country, it was all over the internet.”

“I won’t ask a girl for her age in the middle of a hotel corridor, if that’s what you’re reminiscing on. I’m not stupid enough to make that same mistake, dear _Liam_.”

“So are we going or not? I’m in the mood to dance,” Josh says.

“Oh, please don’t. Even Zayn dances better than you,” Dan complains.

“Hey, fuck you —”

“I’m knackered, guys,” Harry cuts across Zayn’s defense. “Think I’ll call it a night.”

Tom opens his mouth to protest? Invite himself? Niall shakes his head. “You’re still coming with us, Peter Parker, paying for my drinks, mate.”

~ ~ ~

Cal drives Harry the few blocks over to the W. He lectures Harry on why he should buy a house in LA and how he’d benefit from the constant presence of the sun and the active atmosphere of hope. Though he holds the city sincerely to his likings, Harry isn’t in the right state of mind to take in his good friend’s advice. The only circuit going on in his head is the betrayal of Louis willingly kissing another boy.

That isn’t the only thing bothering him. It’s the compilation of the day’s progression, the chain of events that tug at his heart. First, Louis encouraged a public outing that he would have refused to take part in had it been Harry’s idea. Second, the black eye Tom was sporting all evening is a persistent reminder that Louis can’t handle jealousy. Thirdly, Louis allowed Nathan to kiss him full-on in front of everyone who matters.

That’s when the doubts assembled. Then, throughout the interview, the car ride back to the busiest part of LA County, and the longest dinner he’s ever been subjected to, Harry pieced together the puzzle. Louis lied, to put it simply. He didn’t tell Nathan the truth about him and Harry. The evidence presented itself when Nathan openly threw himself at Louis and acted all cute and cuddly. Sure, Harry doesn’t know the guy that well but when they hung out at Euphorium Bakery, he picked up on the fact that Nathan has an unpretentious crush on Louis. He can’t be blamed; Louis is a fine, desirable species of man. Not just _that_ but it is painfully clear that Nathan is purer than even... pre-double-kidney Liam who practically lives at Funky Buddah during their time off.

Most importantly, from what Tom has revealed to Harry, Nathan owns a clean-cut soul. Someone like Nathan wouldn’t take advantage of Harry and Louis’ bullshit breakup unless he was so caught up in the moment that he became careless. The boy was visibly excited to be present for a memorable achievement in Louis’ band’s career, nothing malevolent about that. Tom was doing the same thing seconds prior to Nathan’s unexpected appearance.

Of course Nathan isn’t malevolent. He wasn’t purposely rubbing anything in Harry’s face. Louis however… fuck if Harry knows what he was doing exactly.

Foremost, Harry may have his insecurities, he can’t help it, but he knows how Louis feels about him, there’s no qualm about that. So what is the troublemaker doing with Nathan Sykes? Why is he leading his innocent soul on? There’s certainly a plan in the midst of things. What could it be? Harry has to figure it out before it escalates and Louis fucks shit up for everyone involved. That boy is nothing but mischievous, it’s in his nature to throw people off their axis. If he’s left alone for too long, he becomes a lethal weapon.

The resolution is to not be angry at Louis. It's to act clueless in the interim until he can locate the blueprint. Once he gets down to the nitty-gritty, he’ll strike in the sneakiest way possible with only the best intentions in order to stop Louis without getting caught himself. It’ll be a toilsome task but someone’s gotta do it… Harry pauses to observe his reflection in the car window and shakes off the dorky feeling of wanting to imitate James Bond.

~ ~ ~

Fighting sleep just isn’t one of his favorite things to do. He lets his eyes rest for a second after Nathan dozes off. His lips are swollen and wet. Brushing a thumb lightly against Nathan’s sleeping pout confirms that, yes, both of their lips suffered the same fate.

He thinks of Harry and the first time they heavily snogged. They had done it on Louis’ bunk while Niall, Liam, and Zayn were out of the room and away from the X-Factor house for the evening. Harry hadn’t locked the door because his excitement over an extended period of alone time with Louis distracted him from twisting the lock correctly. They’d been lethargic and happy after lip-locking like depraved teenagers when Niall burst into the room and hardly blinked. Liam and Zayn bumped into him from behind. After urging Niall to get out of the way, the three of them observed the sight: Louis cradling Harry close to his chest and humming the week’s tune into his ear. The level of intimacy was through the roof with the way Harry tightened his grip on Louis’ hip.

“Did you two shag while we were gone?” Zayn blurted out.

“Zayn!” Liam punched his arm on reflex.

“I knew this would happen! That’s the craic!” Niall exclaimed, enthusiasm coloring his then-thicker accent. “It was so obvious, guys.”

Just to make their friends uncomfortable (probably not Niall because Niall was on board before anyone else was) Louis placed a loud, exaggerated kiss against Harry’s lips. Zayn and Liam complained about the sweetness-overload for the ensuing days. Niall honored them like a proud parent. And Louis never again admired another pair of swollen lips like the ones that smiled up at him, warm and meaningful.

Nathan is a good kisser; Louis will not deny that. But he doesn’t know the same tricks that Harry invented himself. His body doesn’t perfectly mold against Louis the way Harry’s does on instinct and familiarity. It’s alright, the time they spend mouthing at each other’s faces until they grow tired and lose their highs.  

The next time Louis opens his eyes, Nathan’s covering him with a comforter. He mumbles his gratitude before letting his eyes slip closed again.

The last time he opens his eyes that night, Louis feels somebody sliding up against his back. It’s not Nathan because the body feels like Harry’s, strong and lean. He twists around, drowsily and cups Harry’s chin.

“When did you come in?”

“Just now. Sorry I woke you, go back to sleep.” Harry caresses the hand on his face. His touch is soft and his eyes crinkle around the edges as they inspect Louis'.

“You’re not mad?”

“About?”

“You know what.”

“Don’t worry about it, babe. Close your eyes, I’m right here.”

Louis settles into Harry’s every angle and is disappointed that when he absently touches Harry’s lips, they aren’t swollen. Hell! He almost reacts outwardly but it would startle Harry and bring more attention to his carelessness. He tests the theory by licking them and freaks out that his own lips are still rather puffy. He sucks them into his mouth and burrows his head against Harry’s neck to hide his latest fault.

 


	11. live tapings suck

The warm entanglement of limbs beneath a comforter combined with a wealthy spilling of light between the part in the curtains hasn't ignited a fire in the hotel room yet. That gives a fair sign that the day will be chill, a relaxing day (even if they are due for a much awaited performance at the Teen Choice Awards and have an uncertainty of whether they'll be taking home any of the four awards they are nominated for).

In the summer heat of the Los Angeles domain, it is strange that Louis did not set the air conditioner on full blast before crawling into bed. It is very much out of character for him to forget. Harry carefully untangles himself from the sleeping boy, removing Louis' leg from over his thighs and replacing his chest with a pillow. He slips out of bed carefully and pads over to the AC control box on the opposite wall to crank the air on high. Maybe he won't feel so sweaty and gross. He turns around to study Louis, the one person who makes sweat look good no matter what he's doing. Like when he's running around on a football pitch or working out under Liam's regime... Fuck, why did Harry even get out of bed?

It's just that... _Louis_. He looks adorable holding onto the pillow that Harry placed under his head. His hand escapes the confines of the comforter to pat at the space Harry left unoccupied, a pout forming on his sleep-induced face. The light seeping in through the curtains enhance his features, making Louis' summer tan reflect golden specks. Longing bubbles up in Harry's stomach as he watches how Louis' Adam's apple bobs in his throat. A mumble slips between his lips. "Nay." Louis is barely coherent.

Harry stills, curiously waiting for Louis to absently elaborate. He tends to speak nonsense when he's in the stage of almost waking up. Either that or he complains about Harry being an early-bird and not getting the worm. The next rumble gets drowned out by Marimba. Harry spies Louis' iPhone on the dresser and makes haste to answer it, hoping that it isn't Nathan. He's not willing to answer the call and mess up Louis' mysterious plan just yet. This is going to be a chill day, Harry reminds himself. He brightens up to see 'Mum' flash on the screen.

" _Boo bear, I didn't wake you, did I? I remembered your current time zone until after the call went through_."

"Boo bear is still asleep," Harry says, feeling warm inside.

Johanna Tomlinson gasps and it sends Harry into worry mode. Why is Louis' mother surprised that Harry is the one answering her call when this isn't anything out of the ordinary? " _Harry! How are you?_ "

"I'm fine. How are you doing, love?"

" _Missing my boy. And you too, dear_."

Jay plain-as-day cherishes Harry as if he were her own and she babies him almost as embarrassingly sweet as she does Louis. Harry ducks his head. "Miss you too. Would you like to talk to him? He has to be up soon anyway, we have rehearsal at noon."

 _"I'll let him sleep what little time he has left_." He hears rustling on her side and then the sound of a mouse click. " _I know he must be tired what with... Yesterday and all. I still haven't talked to him, I hope he's okay_."

Judging by the peaceful set of Louis' jaw and shoulders and the fact that his annoying ringtone didn't wake him up, Harry would say he's okay. That's as far as he knows, physical appearance the only factor at his disposal. They haven't actually sat down and discussed the plunge that Louis made when he exposed himself and Nathan to the world of scrutiny. Later, a heart-to-heart in the privacy of their home will be necessary.

" _Harry?"_ Oh, right Jay's still waiting for a reply. " _Is he okay? Are you two okay?"_

She knows. How could anyone miss it? Louis' supposed relationship with Nathan has hit newsworthy curriculum and is overshadowing all other current events. There shan't be a soul (owner of any electronic device basically) that hasn't at least heard about it and if there is, well, Harry wishes he were one of them. Jay takes his subdued silence for a confirmation that something is off balance. Motherly instincts kick in, aiming to ensure first. " _Louis loves you_."

"I know." Harry feels his throat seal, eyes water.

" _I have no clue as to what he is doing with that Sykes boy but if it's got anything to do with management's wishes_ \--"

"It's more complicated than that, I think."

" _Always is with this business, isn't it?"_ Jay sighs alongside Harry. _"Honey, Louis probably needs you more than ever. Please--promise me, please, that you won't hold him accountable over this thing with that boy. We can't have a repeat of the Eleanor era, can we?"_

No, they can't.

It was Louis' idea to fall into the bearding fashion. Of course he was fueled by Modest and their suggestions but the ultimate decision belonged to Louis--to use a girl he hardly knew to showcase himself as a straight celebrity and kill the gay rumors in the process. Harry was forced (he says forced because she was everywhere) to sit through the charade and allow his boyfriend to spend a lot of time with a girl that was only in it for the price of Manchester University's tuition. And some nice, expensive clothing from Topshop but, hey, who's judging?

Clearly bearding is nowhere near this Nathan situation. It's quite the opposite, having no similarity to the point of having a fake girlfriend. Honestly, it's all a mess no matter what the reasoning is or which perspective you look in from. Louis isn't making it easy on anyone, just throwing bones at the dogs behind the lenses and notepads and...

" _Harry? You still there?"_

"I love him," he states as truthfully as he did the first time he admitted it to Jay. Wow, that was a while ago. Jay was the first to know, even before Louis.

He glances at the object of his affection who is finally easing his eyelids apart, stretching and cursing at the temperature that woke Harry up in the first place. It's taking the central cooler a while to kick in. No, wait, Harry got distracted and never turned it on. "I'm going to fix it, no worries," he adds softly because how could he not? Nothing will ever keep him from wanting Louis. It's a done deal, he'll never find anyone else that can ruffle his feathers while simultaneously filling his heart with emotions that surpass the meaning of love. Emotions that can only be described by tea that awaits Harry on most mornings, beautiful blue eyes that gleam like the clear ocean of the Caribbean, a bum that defies the laws of basic human biology, and a personality that is painfully witty and charming and comical... Okay, Harry is cheesy as hell when it comes to Louis, sue him! There are only a couple of reasons why Harry refuses to kick back and keep his arms crossed this time. He'll be vigilant and quick to keep Louis from fucking shit up like he almost did when he was using _the beard_. He wants Louis in all the right ways and that begins with taming his mischief and saving others from it. It'll be better for everyone.

" _I trust that you will... You're wonderful. Tell our boy I'll call back at a more reasonable time and I'll be tuning in to the awards later. Take care!"_

Our boy.

"Thanks, you too."

Since he didn't keep his voice down with that last line, Louis spots him across the room. "Haz?" His eyes zero in on the phone clutched in Harry's hand. "Who were you talking to?" Louis rises from the bed with his eyes suddenly peeled open, wiping at his forehead to rid himself of a thin sheen of sweat. Could that be the inquiry of a guilty conscience? The actions of a person who has done wrong? Considering Harry's suspicions: yes. Is he going to call Louis out on it? No, he'll just put a damper in his little game.

~ ~ ~

Who knew panic could strike hard when you wake up expecting to see one guy and instead see another? And then to see the latter getting off your phone with someone? Who? The former? Crap, that's a disastrous conversation. Louis' mind is jumbled and sense is nowhere to be found. He thought Nathan spent the night, doesn't recall Harry slipping into the room. Was Louis that tired? Does Harry know what Louis got up to last night? Does he know that Nathan was sleeping on his side of the bed? The answer must be a strict no otherwise Harry wouldn't be kissing Louis and passing on his Mum's message without any hint of a grudge.

Heavy snogging and a hand-job later, they're ready to leave for rehearsal before the other boys.

It appears that Tom inconspicuously passed on drinks to Niall, Liam, and Zayn at some twenty-one and over club where their status got them automatic entry. When Louis hears about Zayn joining in on the alleged fun, he nearly has a stroke. It takes Harry three attempts to get Louis to snap out of it.

It's just that... _Zayn_? He doesn't hang out with the enemy. He doesn't--he wouldn't--do that! (Except for the deception of Zayn being obsessed with Nick Grimshaw's radio show but Louis will digress, he did come to the conclusion that Nick doesn't suck monkey balls and eventually he'll apologize for dumping his suits in the sewer back when Tom Parker was but an insect on Louis' windshield.) Louis regrets leaving his best friend behind to go spend alone time with Nathan. He was working, though. None of the kissing and the cuddling and the sleeping on the same bed stuff was for personal pleasure. That shit was for the sake of prompting his plan to sail further. He doesn't have the patience to keep it going for longer than necessary, (even if Nathan isn't completely terrible...) dragging it out is not the way to go. Ten out of ten would not recommend it, actually.

"What's on your mind?" Harry asks while they wait for the boys to get past their hangovers. They're sat in a secluded corner of the hotel lobby where hardly any patrons walk by. Paul lingers nearby. It's ridiculous that they can't go or be anywhere without guards.

"Zayn was out drinking with Tom." Louis doesn't care if he sounds bitter.

Harry rolls his eyes. "Tom is cool, Louis. I still don't see what you have against him. Zayn gave him a chance."

"I feel betrayed."

"You're being childish. Y'know, you could have at least said sorry for busting his eye at the batting cages. Tom was cool about it and even covered your ass when he was questioned by a few people and his manager."

Louis taps his feet erratically, matching the beating of his heart. "It was an accident. He should have been paying attention."

Harry inclines his head and quietly says, "A decent person would apologize. Oh, by the way,Tom offered to pay for everyone's drinks last night, in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't but thanks. I'll keep that in mind next time there's a bat in my possession."

"Louis! That's not funny."

"I'm not laughing," he shoots back quickly.

So that's Tom's angle? To buy their approval? He'll have to buy Louis an island if he wants to win his heart anytime soon. An additional verbal retort dies in Louis' throat because Paul motions for them to follow him to the underground exit. In their rented van, Niall slides in after Louis to sit with him in the middle row. Upon normal circumstances, Louis would complain about Niall sitting in between him and Harry but he's still pissed at Harry's little comment about decency. Louis is decent.

Niall's head ends up on his shoulder. "Louis, I drank a little too much."

"Good. Did you dicks enjoy yourselves? Have cute stories you wish to share?" Louis eyes the back of Zayn's head in the passenger seat beside Paul. Zayn groans when they exit the underground lot and end up in the blazing sun, most of its evil rays hitting him in the face. _Good_.

"Lou, don't kill me, okay?" Niall says. "Tom is a right laugh."

"He is," Liam supplies from the seat behind Louis.

"Zayn? Any comment?" Louis presses, loudly. He's going to kill each one of them slow and painful.

The boy in question flips Louis off for poking at the discomfort in his head. "Free booze is free booze."

"Traitor!"

Niall lifts his head off Louis' shoulder. "Hey, where did you go with Nathan? You suck for not partying with us. So do you, Harry."

Louis turns in his seat to stare at Harry who's leaning against Liam in the back row. "You didn't go out with these idiots?"

"Hey," Niall and Liam protest weakly. Zayn shoots him the bird again without turning around in his seat. Paul slaps his hand down, claiming paps might get him doing so again. As if Zayn even cares.

Shrugging, Harry meets Louis' eyes briefly before focusing on the window. "I was tired."

No wonder he ended up in Louis' bed... Miracle Nathan had already slipped out, then. Louis' luck is wonderful. God, he's going to hell. The irony in that statement makes Louis crack a smile.

"What?" Harry catches the stretch of his lips. "Does it make you glad that I didn't spend time with my friend, Tom? While you were doing God knows what with your other boyfriend. Fairness, you radiate it, Louis."

"Other boyfriend," Niall echoes, distaste in his voice. He smacks Louis on the arm without warning. "Seriously, can we talk about that? You fookin' _kissed_ Sykes at Leno's like you needed his oxygen. I thought I was watching live porn. I'm surprised you didn't choke on his ton--"

"Niall, _shut up_ ," Harry cuts in.

Niall isn't very obedient. "Are you going to let it slide? You were there, right? You saw that atrocity, didn't you?"

" _Niall_ ," Louis grinds out. And then because he's not going to go easy on Harry, "Harold was probably too caught up in hugging Tom."

"No, I think Niall has a point."

"Thank you, Liam."

"Where is this going?" Zayn asks and that's what Louis would like to know as well. Are his friends trying to get Harry to punish him? To dump him?

"I think Louis should set boundaries with Sykes. I get that they're doing this fake relationship for... Actually, I don't get it but, whatever. There should be rules."

"Niall, you're brilliant."

"I'm with Liam," Zayn chimes in. "Niall is a brilliant dude."

"Love you guys. I would prefer to enjoy my meals rather than feel them climb up my esophagus. No more making out with Sykes in public. Ever. Not even privately no matter how much oxygen you need from him." Harry leans over to flick the ear of an unflinching Niall who adds an afterthought of, "Damn, Tommo, you've become a slut."

~ ~ ~

Rehearsal schedule is set back by fifteen minutes that were stolen by Nelly throwing a fit over his apparently 'lame' entrance for "Cruise." Louis knows that song is a personal favorite of Taylor Swift's and hates it just by association. While the the TCA's stage managers work on the setup for that irrelevant tune, Louis finds a spot to get away from everyone to make a quick call. He slips away easily while the boys try to ask Nelly for pictures without further pissing him off. Louis hopes someone gets it on tape.

Nathan answers on the third ring, his greeting laced with pleasantry and surprise. " _Louis! I thought you were in rehearsal?"_

"I am but I have a few minutes... Listen, Nate, we should talk later."

" _Okay_... " He takes in a deep breath. Nathan doesn't sound so cheerful anymore when he asks,  _"Is this about last night? Is it about me not spending the night? Because if it is_ \--"

Actually, no, Louis owes him a huge thank you for not spending the night. He saved Louis' arse from Harry's wrath. Next time, however, Louis swears he will not act as recklessly. All of it could have been over before he's even had a chance to properly strike against Tom.

"No, _no_. You aren't like--I don't expect you to do that stuff, _okay_? I just want to see you and discuss what this is." Louis forgets he's on the phone and that Nathan can't see his gestures but Nathan gets it.

_"It's not bad then?"_

"I hope not."

_"Good... So, do you think after we've talked we could possibly go out with your mates? I'd like to properly meet them. If--if that's okay with you?"_

Not only does Louis have Tom trying to get into their circle but now Nathan also wants in? What is this turning into? An extended band? Eventually the other Unwanted twats will have no choice but to join too. Fuck, this isn't some act of kindness that One Direction needs, befriending their biggest rivals. What if people actually expect a collaboration between the two groups down the line? What then?

Fuck that.

Right now, Louis should shut off his assumptions and future prognostications. He's thinking too far into it when all Nathan is asking is to spend an evening with Niall and Liam and Zayn and... Harry who he's already done that with. Sort of.

Fine, what harm could it do?

"Sure, we'll think of something sick to do."

" _Sounds great, I'll be looking forward to it._ "

"Same. Do you--"

A sound comes from Nathan's end, disrupting the next thing Louis was going to say. He strains his ears to pick up on the noise. Nathan shushes someone and then mutters into the phone, _"Louis, give me a second? Don't hang up, okay?"_

"Is everything alright?"

" _Yes. Hang on..."_ Nathan's plead disappears into the background. " _I'm talking to Louis_."

A gruff voice responds to Nathan. Maybe Fake Boyfriend failed at his attempt to cover up the mouthpiece or didn't make the effort at all because Louis doesn't miss the sharp, " _What does that asshole want? You're wasting your time, Natey, don't be stupid_."

" _Max, please shut up_ ," Nathan pleads, exasperated. Louis scoffs at the unnecessary "please." Nathan is too nice for his own good. Max is the one being rude.

" _I thought you were smarter than that. Almost makes you look as stupid as that Malik kid_."

Louis misses the rest. Nathan probably realized he was doing a poor job of covering the mouth piece. But. Wow, okay. He's not surprised so much as irritated. Max wants to join Tom in Louis' line of shots? No problem. The new addition will definitely please his most prominent ally; Zayn will surely hop back on the force. And it does strike Louis strange, how Zayn and Max always bring each other up without much of an initiative to do so. If Harry is nagging Louis about his dislike for Tom, he's got no idea how much more Zayn is in need of his sermons. Maybe they all need Jesus.

" _Louis? I'm sorry about that. Max is being a bit of an idiot_."

"Isn't he always?"

" _Please don't make this more difficult than it already is_."

"I'm not. Look, Nathan, I have to run."

" _Louis?"_

"Yeah?"

" _Did I leave my jacket, the one I was wearing yesterday, in your room?"_

Louis doesn't even remember what either of them wore the day before, he doesn't pay attention that much.

"I'm not sure. If I saw it, I probably thought it was mine."

" _Are you implying you're going to keep it?"_

"Hmm, great idea, actually."

" _It'll look nice on you... So um, I have to go. Good luck on your performance and I hope you and your boys win. You guys--you deserve it."_

He's seriously making this hard for Louis. Why is he so supportive? Nathan is too good for Louis.

"I'll try to not get distracted if I see you in the audience." Louis sensed a perfect opportunity to flirt so he took it. He needs to play his cards well to tie this guy in a little more.

Nathan lightens up. Giggling first, he apologizes for sounding like a teenage girl.

"See ya later, okay?

" _See ya, babe_."

Louis hangs up without giving too much thought to being called babe by the wrong person.

"Hey, babe."

Louis jumps. He spins around and finds Zayn pretending to bend over and puke.

"I don't think you've been that cheesy with Harry in centuries. I'm too hungover for this."

"I have to sell it, okay?"

"I'm pretty sure it's working out well. Good luck with this mess later on."

"You're going to help me. Don't assume I'm going to forget you partied with Parker."

Zayn crosses his arms. "You have no idea what I've already done to help you. While you were over here talking to your lover, I was making a little adjustment to Parker's seat. You're fucking welcome."

Louis guffaws. "How did you manage without getting caught?"

"I'm slick, Tommo. I thought you knew this already. Since you disappeared and your phone line was busy, we had to start rehearsal without you. Oh, Liam's probably going to chew you out for that, by the way."

"Shit! I was gone that long?"

"Yeah, dumbass. So while the stage managers were instructing your stand-in, and the boys were bugging Nelly, I fixed Parker's seat."

Louis' ally is being useful and he didn't tell him what Max said yet. He'll save it for a rainy day. "And you're sure no one saw you? You won't get incriminated?"

"I'm telling you I'm fucking slick."

Niall and Liam approach them. Zayn swiftly changes the subject to make it seem like he's scolding Louis for missing rehearsal.

Liam joins in, displying disappointment in his demeanor. "Louis, this is the second time in a row that you mess with rehearsal time."

Louis only feels a teensy amount of remorse. He pretends there's more than that by frowning. "I was talking to my mum. Sorry!"

"Oh." Liam deflates. "How is she?"

"She's fine."

Harry joins them, slinging an arm around Liam's shoulder's. "She's been missing her boo bear," he coos.

Oh? Harry's reproaches from earlier seem to have diminished. He's smiling easily now, dimples out to play. Louis reaches out for him but then halts halfway and settles for clutching Zayn's shoulder. Louis had to stop himself from getting the attention of the people that linger around the amphitheater.

Harry glances around, dimples disappearing. That's probably the saddest part of being in the band, not being able to openly touch each other without fear of a witness. They're everywhere.

~ ~ ~

They have a couple of hours to kill before the award show. Naturally, it would be normal for them to go out and explore some more since they're flying back home the next day. The others do just that, go out on final adventures. Harry and Louis, on the other hand, go back to the hotel against Louis' will. When they get in the lift to go up to their booked-out floor, Harry tells Preston not to let anyone bother them. Louis stares at Harry but doesn't complain. In his peripheral vision he can feel Preston still judging him like he did yesterday.

Maybe Niall is right, Louis has become a slut.

Harry nudges Louis out of the lift and guides him to Louis' room. "Your bed is more comfortable," he explains as Louis searches his pockets for the key card. Harry doesn't stay still, anxious even after they get inside. He backs Louis up against the wall and cradles his face in his hands. "Lou, you're so fucking frustrating."

Louis grips his hips. "So are you."

Harry leans in and kisses Louis slowly, dragging his lips in a movement that draws out a needy moan from Louis. He licks into Harry's mouth, hoping to erase the taste of Nathan that's been lingering on his tongue. Oblivious to Louis' intent, Harry takes his time, moving his hands down to Louis' shoulders and angling him for better comfort. Louis pushes off from the wall and leads Harry to the bed, never detaching their lips. There's something about the urgency that radiates from the heat of Harry's fingertips as they tuck themselves underneath the collar of Louis' shirt, settling against his collarbones. Louis moans again.

The back of Harry's knees come in contact with the edge of the bed and he doesn't need instructions to lay back, pulling Louis down with him. Louis can feel Harry's length against his thigh and ruts against him. He wants to hear Harry keen. And he does while Louis adds friction between them. He pulls away to unbuckle their jeans. Harry grins up at him, lazy and content. Louis watches him as he gets his zipper down and through the haze of his vision, he sees a black jacket just inches away from Harry's head. It's rolled up and somehow tangled with the sheets.

Did Louis leave that there this morning? Did Harry?

Harry blinks, noticing that Louis is no longer staring at him and sits up. He turns to see what has caught Louis' focus. Louis panics and figures he has about three seconds to distract Harry. He palms him and squeezes through the fabric of the jeans he hasn't slipped off yet. Harry turns back to Louis and groans, arching his hips off the mattress, silently begging for more contact.

Louis gets him off like that, fully clothed and with one hand. Harry tries to catch his breath as Louis places kisses along his jaw and removes his hand. He wonders if he could burn the jacket before Harry starts questioning it.

" _Lou?_ "

"Hmm?"

"Your turn. Let me..." Without a warning, Harry flips them over and hovers above Louis, eyes heavily lidded and skimming up Louis' body. Harry kisses him gently. "Why are we still wearing clothes?" He straddles Louis' hips and pulls off his own shirt, throwing it aside. He runs his hands up Louis' sides and stops abruptly. Louis watches his eyes carefully, trying to read him. Harry takes his hands off of Louis and reaches past him.

 _Shit, shit, shit_.

Louis tries to distract him again but Harry's already tugging and holding up the foreign jacket. The boy studies it with curiosity, turning it in his hands, a crease forming between his eyebrows. His eyes narrow at Louis.

"Is this what you were looking at?"

Louis shrugs, doing his best to look indifferent.

Harry shakes his head. "This isn't yours."

SHIT.

"Yes, it is."

"No, it isn't."

"I bought it here--"

"This is Nathan's. He was wearing it at Leno's show."

Harry, ever the observant bastard, drops the jacket by Louis' head and gets off the bed. He zips up his pants. Louis tries to ignore the wet stain over his crotch.

"Why do you have Nathan's jacket?"

"Okay fine, he let me borrow it." Louis sits up, trying to reach for Harry's hands. "No big deal, love."

Harry puts space between them and points a demanding finger at Louis. "Why would it be on the bed?"

"I took it off before going to sleep; I was tired. I'll return it to him later."

There's a pregnant pause in which Louis hopes to jump out the window and get away from Harry's death glare. His bullshit cover up is sure to have holes. Harry tilts his head, not looking away from Louis' face, zeroing in on his lips...

"Last night when I got in bed with you... Louis, your lips were red and swollen."

Holes!

"I--"

"Nathan was here with you, wasn't he?"

"Don't jump to conclusions--"

"While the rest of us were at dinner, did you fuck him? " Harry inquires sharply, his hands balling into fists. "You thought I wouldn't figure it out?"

"What? No!" Louis jumps up and forces himself on Harry, trapping him against the wall where they snogged. "I did not fuck anyone." The fact that Harry would accuse him of going that far... "Harry."

Harry shuts his eyes.

" _Haz_." Louis can't let this get out of control. They're hanging by an old, rusty nail. "I didn't, okay? Come on, Tom hung out in your room yesterday and I didn't immediately assume you guys did anything other than talk shit about my feet. I heard that, by the way."

"Well I sure as hell wasn't going to keep it to myself. I would have told you he spent time in my room, platonically, if you hadn't seen for yourself."

"So you're mad because I didn't tell you Nathan was here? Sorry, next time I'll send you a fucking Snapchat."

Harry rubs at his eyes. "Louis, I saw your lips. I should have known! It was so fucking obvious. I can't even look at you right now!" Harry slips out of Louis' arms that were acting as a cage, peeling himself off the wall. "I know the signs when I see them."

"Harry, listen to me for a second, please!"

"No, _fuck_ , I don't want to hear it." Harry heads for the door, shirtless and disoriented.

Louis follows him. "I didn't fuck Nathan! I can't believe you'd actually think I'd do that to you!"

"It's kind of hard not to when you've been parading around with this guy, acting like he's your boyfriend just to please certain people! This is exactly like the thing you did with Eleanor. Fuck, I should have known you'd do this again. I mean, I hardly tolerated El but I knew you wouldn't try anything with her. But Nathan, he's a guy and--"

"What are you saying? That just because I'm gay I'm a floozy for any guy?"

Harry goes silent, his eyes widen so much that his pupils practically disappear at the center. The whites of his eyes are bloodshot and Louis can see moisture collecting at the inner corners. Is Harry about to cry? Louis should be crying from the direct accusations, not the one belittling his loyalty. So they made out, so fucking what? That's not as bad as sex would have been.

"You're gay," Harry says carefully.

Louis snorts. "Was that supposed to be an insult? That's pretty insensitive of you--"

"No, Lou-- _Louis_ , you just said you're gay. You _said_ it!"

It clicks. Louis' admittance and Harry's reaction. Louis said he's gay for the first time. It has been a constant battle in his head for some time. Harry has been aware of it since they got together. Harry came to terms with his sexuality a year into it while Louis has been lost, struggling along and accepting the fact that guys appeal to him a lot more than girls...

"I'm gay," Louis affirms. Harry's eyes glisten with tears. He appears to set aside his armor to wrap up Louis in a bone-crushing hug. Louis burrows his face into the crook of Harry's sweet-smelling neck and places a lingering kiss there. " _I'm gay_ ," he repeats, a whisper for no one but his love to hear.

"Louis, this is amazing. I'm so fucking proud of you, babe. Wow I--" Harry pulls away and tilts Louis' face up. They're so close Louis can count all of his eyelashes. He can take a dip in the green of Harry's pupils. "I wish this were happening under different circumstances." The despairing formation of his lips make Louis' stomach twist.

"Wh--what are you saying?"

"Louis..."

"Harry, no--" Louis backs away. The more distance between them, the less it'll hurt to hear, right?

"I think we should take a break. You may not have slept with Nathan but I know you did something with him. Whatever it may have been, it's unforgivable. I can't be with someone who would try to cover it up."

"But I love _you_."

Harry nods and ducks his head. "Go do whatever you want, babe. You won't have to lie about it anymore. I rather you don't try to take me for an idiot."

"You have this all wrong!"

"I'm not going to argue."

"You said that before--that you were done arguing--and it didn't lead to a breakup. Why are you doing this now?"

"It's a break, Louis. We need some space. Now you'll be at the liberty to drag Nathan through this fake relationship without worrying about my approval. You didn't need it in the first place, anyhow." Harry wobbles over to the door, turns the knob, and before leaving adds, "Fact of the matter is that we have work to do for our fans, our boys, and our families. We should focus on the band. I love you and I'm honestly proud of your realization. I'll um--I'll see you in a while."

Louis has never felt so small, so useless. Harry is too good for him. Virtually everyone is.

~ ~ ~

" _How did he take it?"_

"He tried to fight it," Harry reveals into the phone, incredibly nonchalant for someone who just broke two hearts at once. He lies in bed with a towel wrapped around his waist, unaffected about soaking the mattress with his freshly washed body. "I reminded him that we have to focus on the band."

" _Did he run after you?"_

"I didn't really give him a chance, Grimmy."

" _I'm honestly in quite the state of shock that gives me goosebumps_ ," Nick says. " _You didn't end things back when he refused to drop the beard. What was so different this time around?"_

Harry chuckles because the answer feels so damn obvious to him. "That's because he didn't cheat on me with El."

" _Okay... But you just told me he's using Sykes for some master plan. Lou-Lou was probably trying to convince the kid that it's real or whatever. You don't actually believe he's getting any pleasure from it, do you?"_

It's peculiar that Nick is trying to find an explanation for Louis' behavior. They really did patch things up. Harry thought he imagined the shift that occurred between Louis and Nick over a week ago. Guess not.

"The principle of the thing is that he took it too far."

Nick is quiet, probably contemplating the morality in the situation. " _You're nineteen and wiser than many people I know... Love, you should have pointed out your suspicions."_

"Not yet. He can't know I'm aware of his scheming or he'll try to act even more inconspicuously. My theory is that it could get worse with him knowing I'm not oblivious. So I'll be watching from afar, waiting to put a stop to it at the right moment."

" _That's very sneaky of you_ ," Nick informs him. " _I approve._ "

"I'm doing it because I love him. I promised his mum I'll fix this and I will."

" _So the break won't be official?"_

Harry bites back a sob. "I don't want it to be."

~ ~ ~

The walk through the red carpet is a bit terrifying. They are always expected to show off their biggest smiles for these types of events although that's kind of hard to pull off when dozens of photographers and reporters yell out their names in an un-orderly manner. At one point, Harry is pretty sure he hears comments being shout about the 'Tomlinsykes' romance which was dubbed official, apparently. Harry has been staying away from the Internet so he wouldn't know firsthand. According to Niall, someone spread the fact that Nathan surprised Louis at The Tonight Show and it's all the rave.

 _Tomlinsykes_ sounds like a disease. Harry wishes to escape the sound of it. The prying eyes of all the reporters at the event is definitely not making it easier for him.

When they finally take their seats inside City Walk's Gibson Amphitheatre, Harry is relieved that he's seated beside his good friend Ed Sheeran. But behind them--no, behind Louis, is Nathan's designated seat. Him and his band haven't arrived yet but they will soon and Harry has no idea what to expect. Will Louis continue the charade? Or will he spare Harry for the evening? Probably the since he's been doing a great job of ignoring Harry so far. Liam asked them if something was up and Louis was the first to shrug and avoid the topic of their break.

Or breakup, whatever. That's what it feels like and _fuck_ if it's making Harry feel a little lightheaded.

Discreetly, Ed whispers, "Mate, what's going on with..." He's obviously not going to say Louis' name but it's implied. "I saw the pictures."

"I haven't had the pleasure." He's not supposed to sulk, not supposed to allow this to affect him so much but it does. And he refuses to see the evidence that has the media and fans raving with the news. "It's not real."

" _Oh_ ," Ed says, avoiding Harry's eyes. "Could have fooled... me..." His mouth smooths over, lips pressing tightly together. Harry follows Ed's eyes to the source of his distraction. Of course it's the sight of what Harry dreaded all afternoon. Louis' hands are low on Nathan's hips, their faces dangerously close. They're smiling and talking and saying hello. In an auditorium where seats are filling and cameras are getting ready to roll. Harry is going to kill Louis. "I'm so confused."

"If you're curious, ask Nick. I don't feel like talking about it."

"I understand."

Ed claps a hand on Harry's tense spine. It serves to ground him, anchoring Harry to his seat and keeping him from making a scene. At this point, Louis really isn't playing fair.

"Hey there," Tom calls. He's standing directly behind Harry and Ed's seats.

Harry is glad to see him. He's also glad Louis is looking over at them. Harry twists in his seat and grasps Tom's hand. Gingerly, Harry gives him a smile that even Ed winces from. "Nice to see you."

Tom returns the same attitude and gives Harry's hand a little squeeze. "Saw you last night, Styles. Hope you're not growing attached." There's a hopeful tone in that joke, only a hint of a taunt.

Harry can be a flirt. If Louis thinks he's the only one skilled in that department, he's delusional. "Fond is what I am." Who can blame him for saying that loudly? If his voice happened to carry over to Louis (who is only four seats down), well that's too bad.

Tom laughs easily and takes his assigned seat behind Harry. When Siva strikes up a conversation with his friend, Harry goes back to facing forward. Ed leans in closely again. "A bit overplayed. Louis wasn't even paying attention, if that's what you were aiming for."

"What? Nah, I was just..." Harry glances at where he last saw Louis playing cutesy with Nathan. They aren't there anymore. They've moved out of the aisle to take pictures with fans that approach them. A girl of about fifteen makes Louis hold a sign that reads 'Tomlinsykes FTW.'

Nice. The boys are posing for couple-y pictures. _Okay_. Hello, lightheaded Harry.

~ ~ ~

"Our performance yesterday was brilliant but we had a smaller audience and it was an acoustic."

"Nice pessimism, Li."

"Zayn, we didn't properly rehearse for this one."

"You worry too much. Let's just have fun with it." He pulls Liam into a one-armed hug and offers his free arm to Niall who gladly steps into it.

Muffled by Zayn's comforting shoulder, Liam acuses, "You're only saying that to stick by Louis."

"Very loyal of you, Malik," Harry drawls, hair a wild mess and skin rather pale.

"Where's Tommo?"

Harry holds Niall's questioning gaze. Shrugging and feigning disinterest, Harry answers, "Wherever his boyfriend is."

"Wait, what?"

"I'm going to strangle Louis," Liam declares. "First he missed rehearsal and now he's off doing PR--"

"Boys, you're on in thirty," says a backstage assistant.

Niall groans. "Minutes, right?"

"Seconds."

As soon as the blonde-haired assistant is out of earshot, Zayn turns to Harry quietly. "Get your boyfriend."

Harry stiffens, his jaw muscles visibly clenching. "He's not my problem anymore."

Three pairs of confused eyes stare at him just as the assistant returns to double-check their microphones. Niall asks her for more time. She says there's nothing that can be done to push back their performance. They're opening up the show, after all.

"That is why live tapings suck. You get no compassion."

They all raise their eyebrows at Louis who has finally decided to deem them his presence. Paul is right behind him.

"Lou, finally!"

Harry wasn't supposed to talk to him. But of course, the nickname slipped and it's too late to retract it. Louis doesn't look his way. Harry returns the sentiment.

~ ~ ~

Best Song Ever turns out to be their worst performance ever.

On the bright side, at least they win the four awards they were nominated for. It gives Harry a chance to smile with an actual purpose. When they accept their awards, he tries his hardest to keep his eyes on Tom rather than Nathan who cheers them on enthusiastically.

The people standing in the row behind Tom captivates Harry's focus. Although he's several yards away, from the stage, he can see that those people--celebrities and the likes--are pointing and laughing at Tom. Liam's speaking kind words to the Ampitheatre when more people in the rows beyond add onto the laughter. When Tom realizes he's the focal point of the humility, he seems to figure out there's something wrong with his arse. Harry pinpoints the exact moment and doesn't know how sorry he feels when he watches Tom reach behind himself... to the back of his pants.

 _Oh no_.

Louis breaks Harry's concentration, interrupting Liam and saying into the mic, "Tom Parker, you alright there?"

Harry can see on the monitor by the professional cameras pointed towards them that another camera, most likely a hover-cam gets a shot of the back of Tom. His pants are ripped and it doesn't take long for everyone else to get a clue.

He's not thinking as he sprints down the steps at the front of the stage and over to Tom. An explanation is nonexistent while he pulls off his plaid shirt to tie it around Tom's waist. The audience seems to like his actions, erupting into a loud applause of approval. Tom mouths a 'thank you' at Harry and sends a wink in the general direction of the stage. Harry catches Louis' reaction: an uncomfortable twist of the lips.

Of course he's behind this wardrobe malfunction. Harry should have suspected it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't have access to a working computer until Monday to fix the parts that aren't in italics like I wanted...but I wanted to post this now because it's late (so sorry, blame school!). 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading.
> 
> xx


	12. someone like you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is pissed basically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel horrible for taking so long to update this story! I've been working on this chapter off and on for months. It has probably been the hardest chapter for me to write and I have no idea why. It might be because it's the longest I've written?????? Or because of some of the stuff that occurs???? I don't know, but I hope it's okay.
> 
> My sincerest apologies. If you're still keeping up with this story, I love you. If you're new, I promise updates won't be long waits from here on out.
> 
> xx

Eyes livid, Harry rounds on Louis as soon as the band crowds into a corner backstage. "I can't believe you! What the hell was that announcement for? I can't —"   
  
"Breathe, Harry," Liam interjects.  
  
While the crowd was split, some either laughing at Tom's expense or others cooing at Harry's knight-in-shining-armor tactics, Liam recalled the X-Factor tour. His pants tore during one of the sets and he hadn't been aware of it until an uncanny breeze tickled his behind. It might have been one of the most embarrassing moments of their career.  
  
At least he'd been in a small arena during a non-televised event. He can't imagine how Tom feels after being exposed in public and on American television. That doesn't limit the audience, though. Thousands in other places are probably watching the live-stream.  
  
What makes matters worse for Tom is that this story will be a trending topic for a good week or two.  
  
Harry seems adamant on accusing Louis for everything lately — for management encouraging him to fake-date Nathan, the batting cage incident, and now Tom's wardrobe mishap.  
  
Louis is being uncharacteristically silent. He has yet to lash out at Harry for publicly acting friendly with Tom. If Ed hadn't immediately offered his signature maroon hoodie to Harry, there'd be a larger issue at hand. Louis rolls his eyes whenever Harry sheds his clothes in public without holding any qualms to who might be watching.  
  
"Haz," Liam says carefully, measuring every gram of reasoning he's about to use. "Don't blame Louis for Tom's pants. He couldn't have set that up."  
  
Harry huffs like a dragon building a breath of fire. "Have you forgotten the black eye? It took Tom's makeup artist half an hour to cover it up for tonight! I don't doubt Louis had something to do with this."  
  
Harry crosses the circle the five of them have created to reach for Louis. In the last second, Zayn pulls Louis out of Harry's reach. If anyone is going to save him, it will be Zayn. Sometimes Liam envies that special treatment, Niall could care less and Harry never addresses it but it's times like these when it irks him. Liam sees the muscles in his jaw flex.  
  
"You need to relax," Zayn snaps.  
  
"Don't pretend you haven't been working with him."  
  
Zayn doesn't miss a beat, doesn't blink. "What's this theory you've got there?"  
  
"I just mean —" Harry falters, looking from Zayn to Louis, anger dilating his pupils.  
  
Looking small and the opposite of the amused boy who had just been on stage, Louis asks, "What were you going to do to me?"  
  
His voice is raw and unsettling, reminds Liam that he should intervene to avoid a scene. He looks around. Too late. Several pairs of eyes are fixed on the five of them. At least it's only backstage crew, people who have likely witnessed worse drama among celebrities and don't really care to tip off the media. Or so, he hopes.  
  
Frowning, Harry asks, "You think I would hurt you?" He stresses each syllable, a crease forming between his brows.  
  
Liam is in disbelief that Louis would actually think —  
  
"Why were you going for my neck?"  
  
"I wasn't!"  
  
The volume has risen.

"Hey, hey, hey," Liam says. "Not here."

Louis steps out of Zayn's protective bubble, putting distance between himself and all four of them. He worries his bottom lip. "I'm not staying for the rest of this shit show."  
  
They all flinch as an imaginary whip has Harry springing back to life. "That is exactly why I broke up with you. You don't take responsibility for your actions. You're always running!"  
  
"Wait, shit. You were serious about that?" Niall being shell-shocked defines the situation.  
  
"Louis," Harry starts, hands coming up to mess with his own hair, "wants to have his fun with Sykes and I don't want to wait around until it ends."  
  
Liam wishes he didn't have to witness the solace on Louis' face and the disappointment on Harry's. They're both hurting. This should be a private moment.   
  
"Y-you said you wanted a break," Louis says.

His lips quiver and Liam's heart pings for him.  
  
"I said that when I could still look at you," Harry says, eyes glistening.  
  
If Liam hadn't been listening carefully, waiting for any sign of a physical battle he'd have to dissemble, he wouldn't believe that Harry spoke such words. They've all become suspended in a moment, trying to grasp everything.  
  
He has to get Louis out of there.  
  
"Lou," Liam beckons. "Let's go."  
  
Niall opens his mouth to protest but Liam puts an arm around his shoulders. "You coming too?"  
  
"Where's _my_ invitation?" Zayn crosses his arms. "I'm not staying here with this prick." He gestures vaguely at Harry who responds with a glare that could burn a whole town.  
  
"Great, so you're all taking Louis' side when you have no idea what he got up to last night!"  
  
Before any of them have a chance to question Harry, Louis stumbles away and draws out, "Nathan."  
  
Harry rounds on him for the umpteenth time. "That's not even remotely funny, you smug little —"

He cuts off as Nathan walks up to Louis.

"Was it necessary for you to announce Tom's problem over the mic? You made it a hundred times worse, Louis!"  
  
"Nate, hold on," Louis sputters.  
  
"Why would you _do_ that?"  
  
Liam should be watching Louis, as everyone else is, but instead he observes Harry, the boy gawking at the newcomer as if he's speaking a dead language like Latin or something. Then Harry's focus is back on Louis, brows pinching together. "Since when do you call him Nate?"  
  
"Wh —" Louis starts but Harry continues, "Keep looking at him like that; it suits you."  
  
Liam must have missed it because he has no idea what look Harry is referring to. Nathan mirrors Liam's consternation. "What?" he asks.  
  
Harry clenches his fists and mutters something unintelligible. Liam thinks he hears him say: "fucking bullshit." With that, Harry shoulders past Louis and avoids making eye contact with everyone.  
  
Zayn scowls at Louis and announces he's going to make sure Harry won't set the auditorium on fire.  
  
Once they're out of sight, Demi Lovato struts by, sending a friendly wave at the stunned group. (Niall follows her until a security guard threatens to escort him out of the building with, 'No, Mr. Horan, Miss Lovato does not have time to take a selfie with you.')

  
Nathan breaks the stunned repose. "What was Harry talking about?"  
  
"Erm," Louis replies eloquently. "Do you remember what I said on the phone earlier? I think now's better than later for that chat." He doesn't wait for Nathan to concede, grabbing his arm and leading him away.  
  
"Should we give them space," Niall asks, blue eyes following the retreating figures as he returns to the scene.  
  
"I think we should join them in case people notice they're missing. Rumors won't be as scandalous if people can add us to the equation." Liam thinks of Harry. "We can't let Haz get worse with whatever is biting at him. He doesn't need to see more news about this Tomlinsykes thing."  
  
"Jealous cunts, the two of them."  
  
Liam bites his lip to reframe from laughing.  
  
Niall sighs, turning to face Liam. "Are they falling out of love?" His lips jut out, taking the light out of puppies and shooting stars along with them. He's like a kid worrying about his parents getting a divorce.  
  
"I think they need to get over their possessiveness with each other. They weren't even dating and Louis almost killed me once when he found me spooning Harry in a totally platonic way, remember?"  
  
Niall snickers. "Your hair straightener mysteriously disappeared the next morning. God bless the Tommo."  
  
"Hey!" Liam wails indignantly. "You said you liked my hair that way."  
  
Niall chuckles loudly and gets shushed by one of Demi's handlers. He returns to frowning. "This whole thing is reminding me of the thing with Eleanor. She was a sweet girl thrust in the middle of a shit media war."  
  
"Are you saying Nathan is a sweet boy?"  
  
"We hardly know him.”  
  
" _Louis_ hardly knows him, if we're being honest."  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Fuck Louis and his plan.   
  
Harry can't stop thinking about the way Louis' face changed when he saw Nathan. There was something there and it's gnawing at him. He's replaced his initial anger over Tom's misfortune with the meaning behind Louis' betrayal. The realization that things have changed between them is much more prominent now. Louis never even so much as looked at another guy before — not with the same look he wore for Nathan.  
  
Harry reaches the large double doors that lead back to the audience. He needs to talk to Tom and apologize on Louis' behalf. He needs to do something to occupy his mind because he doesn't want to allow heartache to take control. As he's about to yank open the doors, someone clutches his wrist. He assumes it's Louis. Always assumes it's Louis.  
  
But it's Zayn. Harry stammers, his mouth flopping open like a fish.  
  
"If people see you like this, they'll start talking, Haz.”  
  
Harry struggles to pull his arm away. "I bet people are still going on about Tom's pants. They won't even notice me," he says.  
  
With a weary sigh, Zayn releases him.  
  
“What?”  
  
"You'd stand out even in a crowd like this, mate. Parker could have been wearing Lady Gaga's meat dress and people would still notice Harry Styles isn't looking happy. You know that."  
  
It doesn't make sense to Harry why Zayn is suddenly trying to reason with him. He crosses his arms, suspicious. "Shouldn't you be with Louis right now?"  
  
"I don't know what he's doing, giving Sykes little nicknames."  
  
Though it pleases Harry on some level to know that Zayn doesn't approve of his best friend’s behavior, he insists, "Still don't get why you're here."  
  
"I know how much you care about your public persona and _I_ care about you. I'm here, okay?"  
  
Harry is still confused. "I know Louis is using Nathan beyond management's agenda and I'm pretty sure you're involved."  
  
"Are you still with that theory?”  
  
Harry can see he's getting to Zayn — causing an eye roll out of him — and if he's consistent, Zayn could potentially crack and spill useful information. However, an usher ruins the prospect by opening the doors for them. Zayn probably wouldn't have cracked anyways. He's loyal.  
  
They walk towards their seats. Harry notices Tom watching him, patting at the empty seat beside him. Harry takes it without a further thought.  
  
Creating a sense of déjà vu from the night of the premiere, Tom leans in close to whisper, "I just got word that Nathan left. You can have his seat for the rest of the night if you want."  
  
Harry has a right mind in assuming Nathan fucked off with Louis somewhere. He doesn't wish to imagine their destination nor the implications. With practiced ease, he schools his face to pretend he isn't even slightly bothered.  
  
"Where are your boys?" Tom inquires.  
  
Harry gestures at the row up ahead where Zayn has claimed a seat with Little Mix, right next to Perrie Edwards. Zayn sends a scowl over his shoulder and for a second Harry assumes it's directed at him but he realizes it's Max George who's on the receiving end. No shock there.  
  
Then, entering a conversational tone, Harry explains, "I don't know where the rest are." Of course that's a shitty explanation so he quickly adds, "We're flying back to London early  tomorrow so."  
  
Tom's grin falters. "Oh. We're staying a bit longer."  
  
"Sounds like a good time."  
  
"I was hoping you'd still be here too."  
  
Demi takes the stage. When she belts out an impressive high note, the audience responds enthusiastically. It becomes background noise as an interesting idea pops into Harry's head. He's been around Louis long enough to play by the lad's rules.  
  
"I love Los Angeles,” he says. A grin tugs at his lips.  
  
“Me too.” Tom pokes his arm. "Thanks, by the way.” His gaze travels down to Harry’s chest where Ed's jacket is zipped up to his collarbones. The winged tips of his tattooed birds are peeking out.  
  
"Sorry about Louis. I don't know what's gotten into him."  
  
Unperturbed, Tom says, "I reckon I would have done the same."  
  
He's a good guy and Louis is wrong to be roughing him up. The notion only makes Harry's idea more appealing. He certainly loves Los Angeles.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
To clear his head of all that is Harry Styles and his accusations and his publicly exposed skin and his insistence to act like Tom's savior, Louis launches into a story about how Nathan should not be mad because Louis didn't get enough sleep and he is 97% sure he fucked up his solo during Best Song Ever and really, Louis knows he shouldn't have made the situation worse for Tom.  
  
Nathan rubs a thumb over Louis' knuckles, the air about him not matching the tender strokes. He seems on the verge of calling Louis out on his bullshit.  
  
"I thought you were done with the feud between you and my boys," he says sadly, removing his hand from Louis'.  
  
They're waiting for Preston to get behind the wheel. When Louis asked him for the favor of a quick ride, he made him promise to keep it low-key. Paul won’t be happy about Louis skipping out on the rest of the show.  
  
"I am done with the feud," Louis lies.  
  
"I hope so if we're going to make this work. Louis, is that what you wanted to talk about?"  
  
Not exactly but Louis nods anyways.  
  
"We’ll wait until we're at the hotel, then."  
  
Alarms go off in Louis’ head. Hotels are bad omens.  
  
Nathan scoots over, his breath hovering dangerously close to Louis' mouth. They won’t kiss. Louis can’t when he can still feel the brush of Harry's plump lips against his own. He can’t blindly give Nathan that type of affection anymore. He needs to omit it from his agenda.  
  
"Are we still inviting your mates?”  
  
Louis is starting to feel lightheaded. "You think that's a good idea what with Harry — uh — not being in a good mood?”  
  
Without transition, Nathan kisses his cheek and it's the stupidest form of endearment coming from the wrong person that it takes a lot of will power for Louis to withhold frustrated tears.  
  
"Maybe we shouldn't invite him. I don’t think he likes me right now. It must be hard to get over someone like you, Louis."  
  
Preston climbs into the driver's seat and thank the heavens because Louis wouldn't have how to reply to Nathan. "Where to?" their impromptu driver asks, not sounding particularly fond of having to do so. Louis would have driven them himself but he doesn't have the proper permission to do so and he's not about to get into that type of trouble when there are other important matters to focus on.  
  
Nathan directs Preston to a hotel Louis is unfamiliar with.  
  
They get dropped off at the back entrance — the only way to avoid the small handful of fans perched across the street. A nameless man from The Wanted’s team escorts them up six levels without questioning Louis’ presence. Should that be added to the list of things to worry about?  
  
Once inside Nathan’s room, Louis receives a text from Liam:  
  
 _ **Where r u?!**_  
  
Louis sends him the name of the hotel and passes on Nathan’s impromptu invite.  
  
And then:  
  
 _ **Shld we tell any1 els??**_  
  
Louis doesn’t get to respond with “ **ABSOLUTELY NOT** ” because Nathan chooses to break their silence. "You can sit if you want." He perches himself on the edge of the bed, leaving space for Louis.  
  
Naturally, Louis takes a seat at the windowsill a good ten feet away. The darkening backdrop of the city casts him in a shadow while Nathan is bathed in artificial light. He doesn't react to Louis putting space between them.  
  
As he watches the last remnants of the sunset, Louis gets straight to the point, "I don't think we should go for the PDA stuff."  
  
"Because I'm a guy?" Nathan questions like he's afraid of offending Louis. The nerve, really.  
  
Louis thinks of Harry, stalls his answer.  
  
"What are we, Louis? I need to know. I—I thought that's what we were going to talk about."  
  
Louis recognizes how much of an asshole he's being, playing with someone who genuinely wants to be with him.   
  
Hopefully, with not too much of a delay, Louis says, "Whatever it is, let's keep the PDA at a minimum. Please?”  
  
"Because of Harry?"  
  
Of course Harry's the reason. If Louis wasn't feeling heartbroken earlier, now he’s doubtlessly getting the effects.   
  
"He's not taking it well.” (It’s the truth, okay?) "I don't want him to think I'm rubbing you in his face. Get me?"  
  
Silence ensues. Nathan’s fingers grip the brown comforter beneath him.  
  
It would be nice if Louis could make a quick escape. He’d very much fancy smashing his own head against the window and if it happens to crack and he leans his body heavily against it —  
  
"Louis, last night we kissed. A lot."  
  
Nathan stares hard at the window as if willing it to stay in place unlike Louis' imaginative wish for it to smash open and take him with it.  
  
Louis feels weary and sick and _fuck_ , he doesn't blame Harry for ending it.  
  
“Do you ever wonder why I say your name all the time?" Nathan continues.

"Sometimes..."

"It makes it real.”

Oh hell.  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“I hear your name all the time. I’ve seen it on TV and in magazines. Your name is everywhere.” He sucks in a breath. “I've been secretly crushing on you for a while. My boys always tease me and... And you’re really good looking and hilarious, Louis. And when you actually started talking to me, I couldn't believe that it was you who instigated it. You're not how some people say you are. But I'm gonna be brutally honest, my mates still think you're an asshole."  
  
As if he didn't already _know_ that. Louis releases a nervous laugh. It's the first sign he shows that Nathan's soliloquy is getting through to his brain. He's still processing everything, afraid of how serious each sentence sounds. Too much meaning is embedded.  
  
"Louis, you're not an asshole."  
  
"Well thanks, Nate." He huffs out another laugh, starting to think it's his own way of disguising how horrible his stomach is churning.  
  
“I like you, Louis. So if you want to take it slow for Harry's sake or for whatever reason, I can respect that. I don't want to push you into anything serious. Just know that."  
  
Nathan is only a pawn in the game and will stay that way no matter what he says. Even if the look he's giving Louis is etched with hope. Hotels are bad. Louis is bad. Everything about this is bad.  
  
"My mates are heading over after the TCAs. I want to prove you're more than the guy engaging in Twitter drama and print articles. That you're more than the Louis who supposedly hates The Wanted."

 _Supposedly_. Ha.

~ ~ ~  
  
The Louis who hates The Wanted is the same Louis who is currently surrounded by too many of them. Four out of five. Nathan is standing close to his side. They’ve been joined by the lanky tan one who has a nasally voice, the one with curly hair and too many wristbands, and the bald, bitchy one.  
  
The one that Louis can’t stand the most isn't present so thank his lucky stars for that.  
  
The faces of the three losers he’s forced to shake hands with say everything. They don’t want to be there as much as Louis would prefer to drown himself in the Pacific Ocean. He didn't sign up for this. Who said he had to make nice with these fools?  
  
A hand snakes around Louis’ waist. Didn't they agree to minimal or no PDA? What the actual fuck? He gives Nathan a glare, which translates more as a show of nervousness because the boy whispers, "it'll be fine."  
  
He gets a little squeeze and then Nathan walks away to order room service. As soon as he gets distracted by the phone, the other three take the opportunity to discuss their distaste (as if they were ever trying to hide it) with Louis who isn't very keen on being ganged up on.  
  
“Don’t you think we’re suddenly friends,” Max says, a biting edge to his tone.  
  
Louis crosses his arms. “I don’t befriend bitches.”  
  
“You’re not fooling us, Tomlinson. You’re just messing about with our mate because he likes you for some stupid reason.”  
  
“I’m not messing about with him. Fuck you.”  
  
“I knew this would be pointless,” Siva says. He looks bored and not very inclined to join the argument anymore.  
  
“You can see yourself out, then.” Louis smiles widely to show how charming he can be.  
  
Jay, who has had his moments on Twitter, especially when he got his twat of a brother to talk shit, points a finger at Louis. “You’re not really making your case with that attitude. Besides, you’re in no place to kick any of us out. This isn't your hotel room.”  
  
“Sorry, love, but I don’t really care.”  
  
Right when Louis is about to collectively flip them off and Max moves to mirror him, Nathan rejoins them, cheerful and unaware that his mission is already failing drastically.   
  
~ ~ ~  
  
It is painfully awkward for Louis to sit around and pretend he doesn't want to stuff the remainder of his chicken panini down Max's throat. Jay and Siva have retreated to a corner to watch a Game of Thrones marathon, abandoning Nathan's attempt at a play date.  
  
Max is as insolent as ever. The jerk keeps harping on Louis over everything they've ever argued about on Twitter. As if those things are still relevant. Several times Nathan tells his rabid dog of a friend to relax. During those instances, Louis finds himself leaning that much closer to him. It's the only way to avoid strangling the hairless bastard.   
  
Louis and Max are in the middle of a quarrel over the last dish of pudding when a knock at the door startles them into silence. Louis volunteers to open it.  
  
He finds his bandmates in the hallway. All except one.  
  
"Where's Harry?" he blurts quietly.  
  
"Out with Parker," Zayn says. His posture doesn't hide the sour mood he's in. His arms are hanging stiffly by his sides. He's an open book.  
  
Louis doesn't say anything, not while Harry must be gallivanting around town, getting photographed as always with other people, not when Zayn looks like he rather be somewhere else, and especially not with Nathan in possible hearing rage.  
  
"Lou, can we talk?" Liam asks, expression impossible to read.  
  
"Sure, Payno."  
  
"Just the two of us."

By the look on Liam's face, there isn't room for discussion. Louis has a feeling that he has a lot to say.  
  
A hand suddenly crawls down Louis' spine. He almost jumps.  
  
"Hey lads!" Nathan greets. Cheery little git. His hand stays on the small of Louis' back. 

He hopes everyone else is oblivious to the touch.   
  
"Go on," Louis tells them. "Li and I will be in shortly."  
  
Without comment, Nathan allows Zayn and Niall inside. Louis' skin burns where Nathan was touching him. The intimacy was too much.

The heavy door closes behind him, signaling that they're alone in the hallway. Liam leans against one wall, folding his arms. Louis does the same.  
  
"What's going on?" Liam asks.  
  
Of course he has questions. Why else would he have asked for some privacy?

"Nathan wants all of us to befriend each other. It'll be fun." Does his sarcasm shine through? He doesn't care.

"That's not what I'm asking."

"Then?"  
  
"Lou, you know what I mean. Harry said you got up to something last night. He made it sound compromising. I wasn't going to ask but seeing as you disappeared with Nathan while Niall and I were trying to find you... I need to know if it's as bad as Harry made it sound."

Imprinted on the backs of Louis' eyelids is the way Harry looked at him when Louis discovered the gold: his sexuality. Obviously he's known for some time that girls don't interest him like Harry does. It was an instant attraction that spread through him like butter on warm toast. Louis loves Harry and he recognizes his mistake, which is why he can’t help but worry that Harry won’t be waiting with open arms when this is all over. Louis will have to make a grand gesture, as cliché as that sounds, to win him back. That's how he's managing to hold himself together: hope. Because they aren't completely over. They cant be and he hopes Harry knows that.

"Liam waves a hand in front of Louis, drawing him out of a stupor. 

"If you're not going to tell me, I'll ask Harry."  
  
"Last night I was with Nathan," Louis admits, shame stinging his tongue.   
  
God, he wants to kiss Harry to get rid of that sensation. He _wants_ Harry.  
  
"Dammit, Lou! You cheated? Management asked you to fake the relationship, not actually take it seriously behind closed doors!"  
  
"Hush!" Seriously, he cannot afford for any of this to reach anyone's ears. "It's not like that! Harry thinks the worst of me right now but it isn't what he thinks. Not really. I uh — Nathan he —"  
  
"I don't want to hear it, to be quite honest."  
  
"Nathan actually likes me quite a bit," Louis says anyways.  
  
Liam frowns like he's deciding whether to lunge at Louis or distance himself. He does neither. Just stares, frown growing, cheek against the pale wall as he faces Louis. His voice is low as he prods. "Nathan doesn't know you're doing this for the publicity?"  
  
Louis squeezes his eyes shut because _fuck fuck_ _fuck_.  
  
"Louis you can't do that. Look where it's already gotten you with Harry."  
  
He doesn't want to hear the rest of the sermon that's bound to spill out of Liam's mouth. He's got those creases on his forehead that usually warn Louis of an impending lecture. He doesn't want to hear it. Not right now. 

"We can't talk about this here," Louis hisses.   
  
"Later then."  
  
"Sure, sure. Whatever."  
  
Louis practically shoves Liam back into the room after Nathan lets them in. He gives Louis a quizzical look.  
  
"Everything alright?" Concern colors his tone.  
  
Liam nods, giving a slight smile before walking further into the room to awkwardly join the others. Louis stays put to ensure Nathan there's nothing wrong. As he's doing so, in a low voice, they spring apart at the sound of a loud thump followed by a string of curse words being voiced by Max.  
  
"What the fuck d'you do that for?" he demands from the floor. He seems to have fallen off the bed, and judging by the tense air between them, Zayn must have made it happen.  
  
Louis isn't surprised. Deviously, Zayn is smirking down at Max as he explains, "You were taking up too much space, sorry." He shows no remorse whatsoever. "Next time keep your arse away from me."  
  
"If you think this will ever be a thing again, you're fucking wrong, Malik."  
  
"Right, because no one will fucking invite you."  
  
"This is my mate's room, not yours!"  
  
Louis has rarely witnessed Zayn argue with someone like this, not if they weren't Niall (nothing but silly banter between those two, anyway). Max's eyes are wide and lit up, fumes can almost be seen rising from his skin. Zayn is calm. He knows what he's doing.  
  
"Look, Maxine —"  
  
"Don't fucking call me that you cock sucking —"  
  
"Alright, alright!" Nathan startles everyone — especially Louis who isn't accustomed to hearing him raise his voice.  
  
Niall, Liam, Siva, and Jay had all been watching the argument as if they were seated in a cinema, eyes flashing between each speaker to welcome the insults.  
  
Max stands up to his full height, hands balled into fists. Louis sees Liam shift, always waiting to be the valiant hero.  
  
Nathan speaks again: "Max, you couldn't have gone a few minutes without starting something?" The disappointment dripping from his tone is surprising when clearly, Zayn started it, not Max.  
  
"Are you bloody serious?! You're blaming _me_ after _my_ ass ended up on the floor?"  
  
Louis doesn't like the way Max is talking to Nathan. It reminds him of what he overheard when he was on the phone with him earlier. Max is a controlling twat so Louis can't help but step a little closer to his fake boyfriend, wanting to make sure he isn't being affected by his bandmates's reproachful tone.  
  
Siva and Jay snap out of whatever stupor they'd fallen in and subsequently point fingers at Zayn like a pair of five year-olds. "He started it," Siva says while Jay announces, "This is why we can't be friends with them, Nate. Don't you see?"  
  
"I fully agree," Zayn chimes in, getting off the bed and shoving Max out of his way to head for the door Louis and Nathan are still standing in front of. "I'm out," he says while assessing Louis' face.  
  
Something tells him he should back Zayn up. After everything, he practically owes his soul to this boy. So why is it so difficult for Louis to say something now? He's got almost everyone in the room waiting for him to speak, everyone except Nathan who has his back to Louis. But Louis' mouth decides to remain sealed when he depends on it. Louis who talks more than he should on most occasions and who has never been one to back down from a fight. But he can't speak, can't even look at Zayn without feeling a wave of guilt crashing against the walls of his skull. After all the effort he's made in reeling Nathan in, he can't go back to square one just because Zayn and Max act like ridiculous school yard bullies with each other. Pushing someone off a bed is Zayn's newest low and that has nothing to do with Louis. He takes a deep breath and steps sideways and out of Zayn's way.  
  
The light in Zayn's eyes flicker. He opens his mouth to argue his case, probably, but instead he shakes his head, giving up. Louis wants to explain, wants to make him understand why he can't follow him out that door, but he can't because he's about a breath away from ruining everything. Louis' heart thumps as he watches Zayn leave.  
  
The door slams.  
  
"I'm done for the night," Max announces, loud and booming. He stuffs his phone in his pocket as he walks up to Nathan. "Told you this was a shit idea. I fucking tried."  
  
"No, you didn't," Nathan argues. He sounds sad and it makes Louis sad. Why is everything so fucking _sad_ all of a sudden? He's tired of feeling sad.  
  
"They sabotaged Tom at the awards and you're still trying to make nice with them. Unbelievable, Natey, really."  
  
"That accident that had nothing to do with them. I already talked to Louis about it."

"And I'm guessing you believe everything that comes out of his end."

"Why wouldn't I? Goodnight, Max."

Louis holds back a high-five, which Nathan totally deserves.  
  
Adequate responses must not be in Max's dictionary because he grunts like a caveman and leaves the room, another door slam filling their ears and making the walls vibrate.

"Anybody else," Nathan demands hollowly. He must be exhausted. Or embarrassed.   
  
The rest of the boys don't wait long to shuffle out. Jay shrugs, muttering something about Game of Thrones having less drama. Siva pats Nathan's shoulder as a parting gesture. Liam and Niall leave together, two pairs of eyebrows raised, and neither saying a word to Louis. To his surprise, they bid Nathan a goodbye.  
  
As soon as they're all gone, Nathan deflates, back squared and shoulders tense.  
  
"Nate?" Louis starts tentatively, reaching out. His hand stops short. "You okay?"  
  
"I think I'm going to bed. It's late," he says cuttingly without turning to Louis. "Your flight leaves in a couple of hours, anyway."  
  
Louis forgot about his flight and the fact that Nathan remembers it doesn't appease the situation.  
  
"Yeah, I probably should." He clears his throat. "Will you see me off?"  
  
 _See me off?? At the airport?? Where Harry will be?!_  
  
Louis should slap himself.  
  
"Why would I?"  
  
The shade is real, Louis thinks. He hasn't any idea what is going on in Nathan's head. He didn't instigate the thing between Max and Zayn. That was between them. He stood there silent because he thought that was the right thing to do. Louis can't seem to stop fumbling around in the dark and needs an anchor.  
  
Nathan slips off his shoes and fluffs a pillow. He still isn't looking at Louis.   
  
"Do you want to talk about it or —"  
  
"I just want to sleep, Louis. We can talk later."  
  
Well then.  
  
"Oh, okay... I'll get going. Can probably still catch up to Liam and —"  
  
"You don't have to go," Nathan says, rubbing at his eyes. "I'm not upset with you." He collects empty pudding cups and dumps them in the trash. Louis missed out on dessert.  
  
He raises an eyebrow because he's pretty sure Nathan has never been this way towards him.  
  
"Honest. I'm just feeling shitty, 's all."  
  
Nathan lies down and watches Louis expectantly. Under the false light of toeing off his shoes and getting comfortable, Louis avoids further conversation. By the time he's situated parallel to Nathan, the other has already fallen asleep. About two feet of space separates their bodies.  
  
Louis shuts his eyes and thinks of curls. They become a dream.  
  
~  
  
At some point in the night, Louis wakes up to find Nathan's hand resting atop his chest. The light pressure feels all wrong. Foreign. Weighty.  
  
Louis exhales on a shaky breath. He reaches for his phone on the nightstand and finds one missed call from Kate. Anything having to do with management can wait. He'll say he was sleeping. They're allowed to do that once in a while.  
  
He knows he shouldn't, but he does it anyway — he checks Twitter. Louis finds his profile has been active since Paul said Kate would handle his account as she's done several other times. She tweeted about the event, the weather, and other crap. He doesn't bother to read the rest; it doesn't spark his interests.  
  
Then he checks Harry's account, masochistic as ever. There's a link in a recent tweet to a picture on Instagram. The brief caption reads: _pineapple drinks for the soul_.  
  
Harry, ever the endearing shit and the world's biggest fruit enthusiast, never ceases to put a smile on Louis' face. His heart swells. He misses him so he can blame his dazed and sleepy mind for clicking the link without a second thought. When the photo loads, he finds that Harry isn't the only one holding up a fruityass drink. So is Tom. And that's not all. His filthy arm is around Harry's shoulders. Their smiles are huge and dopey. Harry's dimples are out on display and Tom... he looks like he's having a good fucking time. The picture was posted twenty minutes ago. It's 3 in the motherfucking morning.  
  
Louis' phone slips through his fingers as they've become sweaty, and the hard plastic lands on his face, a groan escaping his mouth. Nathan stirs. He asks Louis what's wrong with half-lidded eyes.  
  
"Nothing. Go back to sleep."  
  
In his sleepy haze, Nathan obeys and turns over on his side. Louis doesn't want to see him, doesn't want to feel him. He wants to kill Harry. And Parker. Mostly Parker.   
  
His mind is a mess. Blood is pumping too quickly into his brain and the circuits connected to his neurons feel like they're on overdrive, heading for destruction. He forgot that when he asked about Harry, Zayn said who he was out with. Louis had been too preoccupied with everything else. He itches to pull up Zayn's contact number; to rant and plan homicide. But after what happened earlier, he doubts Zayn will be in the mood.   
  
Louis hates everything about this situation. If Harry were hanging out with anyone else — even if it were Taylor Swift (ugh) — Louis wouldn't mind so fucking much. He slips out of bed quietly so as to not disturb Nathan and gathers his things in the minimal light seeping in through the curtains. He makes it out into the hallway without a desired destination. He could try finding Harry and demanding that he take him back. But Louis doesn't roll that way. He isn't one to beg. And he would definitely never give Parker that joy.  
  
As he heads for the lift, he hears a door click open and freezes, certain it's Nathan. He turns around quickly ready to make up an excuse but Zayn. "Zayn?"  
  
"Shut up!" Zayn whispers. He looks back anxiously into the room he just emerged from and inches the door closed. Slow and cautious.  
  
"Sneaking out on your one-night-stand? How did you even find one on this same floor, you cheeky —"  
  
"Piss off!" Zayn winces when the door creaks. He's eventually successful in shutting it and heads for the lift.  
  
Louis beats him there and stands in front of the buttons. "I thought you left."  
  
"Move," Zayn orders, eyes reduced to slits.  
  
"Not until you explain."  
  
"He'll hear you."  
  
Louis wants to laugh because this is gold, isn't it? Did Zayn really say what he thinks he said? Did he say...  
  
"You're not gay, Zayn."  
  
"I like sex," he explains indifferently like, 'yeah, sports are cool.' "Press that down button before I remember why I shouldn't be talking to you."  
  
Louis reluctantly presses the button and as they wait for the lift to arrive, he wonders if he should mind his own business.  
  
"You like girls," he states. Once he gets started, he can't stop.  
  
"I like sex."  
  
A sharp ding makes Zayn flinch and he bolts inside once the metallic doors finish sliding open.  
  
Louis hops inside. "You like sex _with_ girls," he clarifies once the doors close. 

Zayn has that crazy sex hair going on and there's a prominent bruise on the side of his neck.  
  
"Can we talk about how you slept with Nathan?"  
  
"I didn't sleep with him, you idiot. Never have. I mean, yeah we slept, but _nothing_ happened."  
  
Zayn stares.  
  
"We were just sleeping!"  
  
"You don't 'just' sleep with your enemy, Louis."  
  
"It's part of the plan."  
  
"That's not what we originally thought of doing and you very well know that. I think the issue here is that you're falling for Sykes."  
  
Louis gasps like he's been pelted with water balloons. The coldness wakes him up. Now fully alert, he reasons, "I'm not!"  
  
"I think you are."  
  
"I'm in love with Harry."  
  
They reach the ground floor and before properly getting out, Zayn peers in the direction of the front. "Thank fuck these losers don't have dedicated fans waiting out there."  
  
As they walk into the night, they're met with a cab driver who Zayn apparently called before he abandoned his one-night-stand. They ride in silence until Louis can't anymore.  
  
"I'm sorry about earlier. I couldn't leave with you. I'm still working on Nathan and things are going good right now."  
  
Zayn shuts his eyes and leans back in his seat. For a moment Louis thinks he's going to be ignored but then: "You called him Nate when we were backstage."  
  
"So? Why does that matter?"  
  
"You're getting too close. Why do you think Harry flipped out on you?"  
  
"I —"  
  
"And there was this look on your face when Sykes joined us. Like you're fond of him. I saw it. Harry saw it."  
  
Louis is glad Zayn still has his eyes shut, he's being spared from seeing the discomfort that crosses over Louis' face.  
  
"I have to pretend to like him."

"Mhm."

They arrive to their hotel where a small group of fans are huddled across the street.

"Sir, can you drop us off there, please?" Zayn points at the girls.

In these types of circumstances, Zayn rarely makes decisions like that. Louis can't help but be impressed.

When their fans realize what's about to happen, they jump up and down like bunnies on steroids. (Louis has always wondered how some of their fans manage to lose sleep so willingly.) The boys take a few pictures with the girls, giving them hugs and friendly greetings. They're in hysterics and when Zayn asks them what they think of Louis and Nathan, one of them bursts into tears.

Zayn is an evil shit.

"I ship it!" exclaims the emotional girl.  
  
Another girl steps forward shyly, frowning down at her shirt. It reads #larry.  
  
Louis' heart thumps.   
  
"Is the thing with Nathan Sykes really a thing?" Shirt Girl asks.  
  
 _Bloody hell_.  
  
He's unsure how to answer without giving too much away. He looks to Zayn for help but the bastard is pretending to occupy himself by drawing a little cartoon on a fan's phone case. Louis hopes he's drawing something masterful because it'll be the last time he gets to use that hand, he swears to —  
  
A taxi turns the corner and slows down as it nears the hotel.

Louis freezes up.

Zayn looks up.

The girls perk up.

They all anticipate to see who will step out of the car. Suddenly the fans seem to spot a clue and one of them screams, "It's Harry!" The moment is shattered and Louis would be stupid to stick around and see —

"He's not with Tom anymore!" one practically screams. If she sounds enthusiastic, that might be Louis' mind playing tricks on him.  
  
 _Same_ , Louis muses.  
  
"Who?" someone inquires.  
  
Louis doesn't hide his smirk because he loves his fans so much. But it's not like he's being watched anymore. They have all shifted their focus and Zayn has returned to his doodle.  
  
Harry stumbles out of the car, almost dropping his goodie bag. So they _did_ go to an after party. Okay. Louis wants to hide but Zayn is the only person tall enough to cover him. Where are the tall fans when he needs them?   
  
Louis is done with fan service for the night. He bids them farewell despite their distraction with Harry's presence. He jogs across the street without checking for traffic, heart rising to his throat. He doesn't look back.   
  
A security guard at the entrance asks Louis if he's crazy. He doesn't know what the question means and simply shrugs in response. Getting escorted to the lift slows him down and he isn't surprised that Harry has caught up to him. Louis stands inside the lift while Harry places one foot inside so that the doors won't close.  
  
"Don't do that," he scolds, a grimace taking form on his rosy face. He must have been enjoying himself with Tom.  
  
"Don't do what?"  
  
Harry's grimace deepens like a disturbed kitten being woken up from a nap. "Don't run across streets like that."  
  
That's all? That's the only reason Harry followed him? To patronize him?   
  
"Okay, mummy," he retorts. He's not bitter, nope.  
  
They eye each other a moment too long. Harry glances behind his shoulder and sighs. "I don't want to keep them waiting. The fans. So I'll um. Yeah. Have a safe flight."  
  
He runs off and that's that.  
  
Louis is going to raid the mini fridge as soon as he gets to his room.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Everyone except Harry is at the airport by 11AM. Louis has a food hangover. He can't wait to get on the plane and sleep. It'll be fantastic.  
  
"Is Harry in traffic or something?" Liam asks no one in particular.

Louis bets Harry found it hard to get out of bed. _Good_ , he thinks.  
  
"I thought he was heading over with Teasdale," Zayn says.  
  
Louis gets a text message, thinking it's Harry notifying them he's almost there. In reality it's Nathan.   
  
 _ **I overslept!! Sorry :(( xx**_  
  
"Lou? She's already here," Liam reminds Zayn. "She's still going through Customs."  
  
 **No worries x**  
  
Oh fuck. Louis didn't mean to add the 'x' but it's not like he can recall the message.  
  
"Uh guys." Niall clears his throat and meets Louis' eyes. "Harry's staying a bit longer."

 _Have a safe flight_.  
  
No fucking wonder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be updating more consistently because my bestie and I are planning another fic that we really want to start soon. So if you're a reader of my other fic, "Fallout," I'll be keeping up with that one too. It helps that I only have 2.5 weeks left of school. Wooooooooo!
> 
> And if you want to chat or yell at me, my tumblr is the same as my username on here.
> 
> xx
> 
> Side note: songs that got me through this chapter:
> 
> *“High Hopes” by Kodaline  
> *“Ships in the Night” by Mat Kearney  
> *“Crashing Down” by Mat Kearney  
> *“Moving Backwards” by Ben Rector


	13. the bachelor life

Louis has been home alone plenty of times. It's nothing new. He can get by on his own. The place isn't big enough to scare him. Random sounds, like the floorboards creaking or the walls settling into the foundation, don't lead to assumptions that someone has broken in. The fans haven't figured out where they live, so the area is relatively quiet and definitely intruder-free.

He hasn't cleaned up after himself in three days. He's been wearing the same joggers since he returned from LA. His hair looks unkempt, beard untouched, pride at a low level of two out of ten. There are wrappers and empty bottles of Pepsi littering the kitchen and living room floors.

Carpets should match their drapes, right? The bachelor life and all that.

If someone were to actually break in, they'd probably confuse Louis with a hobo.

But it hasn't all been terrible. His jet lag went away on the second day and his new favorite show, _Breaking Bad_ , has been keeping him entertained. He even had time to talk to his family.

Louis' mum asked how Harry is doing and mentioned seeing an article about Harry being spotted in West Hollywood riding a motorcycle. (" _He looks like such a stud_ ," his mum commented. " _Hope he's being carefu_ l.") Louis refuses to Google it. He also refuses to tell her they broke up. He just nods along during their phone call even though he knows she can't see him and hopes Harry is at least wearing a bloody helmet. _Christ_ , when did Harry take an interest in motorcycles?

His sisters (mainly Lottie) asked about Nathan. Louis changed the subject every time and scolded them for paying attention to the media instead of their summer assignments for school as good little girls should. (" _But we like knowing what you're up to, Lou_ ," the twins said and Louis' heart stumbled a bit.

" _I'm not a little girl, thanks_ ," Lottie piped in.

Louis hummed and changed the subject by promising to visit them soon.)

Calls with management are never enjoyable but the one he had with Kate the night of their return wasn't too bad... (" _Tomlinson, keep doing what you've been doing with Nathan. It's working_.") He hasn't done anything with Nathan, whose flight back to London isn't for another week, and doesn't want to think about what they'll have to do to keep up the pretense.

He still isn't allowed to touch his Twitter, Kate reminds him, and it hardly matters. He doesn't have anything remotely fascinating to say unless people want to know his opinion on the possible outcomes for the 2014 World Cup.

Yesterday, Liam and Niall pressured him into a Skype call. Niall explained how he knew Harry extended his stay in LA. (" _I went to his room before we left because I couldn't find my Lakers snapback. That's when he told me he was going to stay longer. Sorry, Lou, I should've told you sooner, but I promised I would keep it to meself_ —"

"No big deal, Nialler.")

Except it is a big fucking deal. Harry stayed in LA just to spite Louis. He stayed knowing that Parker would be there. Louis isn't a dolt, he knows what this is.

(" _You practically forced him to break up with you_ ," Zayn said on the phone.

"You're not the best mood lifter, Malik."

" _Babe, you already know how I feel about this situation. If you need me to spell it out for you, give me a few hours to get a jet to write it in the sky. Which font do you prefer_?"

"Shall I remind you it was your idea to use Nathan, you tosser?"

" _It's not like I told you to become fond of him_."

Louis scoffed. "I'm anything but fond." He hung up on Zayn quite violently, letting his phone clatter to the floor and not bothering to pick it up. He'd been waiting for a call from a certain someone but he was aware it would never come.)

Still hasn't.

Just now the pizza guy looked Louis up and down like he was trying to figure out whether he was handing over a pepperoni deep dish to an infamous Batman villain or to an escaped convict. Louis shut the door in his face after paying for his elegant meal.

The radio silence in the flat is endless so he resumes where he left off on _Breaking Bad_ and sinks his teeth onto 300 calories of melted cheese and crunchy pizza dough. He hits a new low when he adds syrup as an experimental topping. He's worse than the girls he's seen in romantic comedies — not that he'll ever admit to watching those types of films and if anyone is to blame, it is definitely Harry — who eat their feelings in the desperate attempts to fall into a food coma, which is definitely better than heartbreak.

At least those girls know what their feelings are. Louis is utterly lost.

Should he keep up with the Nathan thing regardless of what management wants? (They didn't make him sign a contract like they did with Eleanor, so.)

Should he call Harry and see how he's doing? Apologize? Grovel? Send him a fruit arrangement? (They haven't spoken since the other night in the lift.)

Louis has created a mess of things and he doesn't know when Harry is returning. He doesn't suppose he'll be finding out anytime soon. But if the date happens to coincide with The Wanted's return, Louis will hit someone or something.

He bites into a new slice of pizza, syrup-free and a lot less sugary and moist, when the doorbell rings. He gets up slowly, taking his time to trudge over to the door. He supposes the delivery guy has come back to demand a tip that Louis should have given but didn't. He pulls out his wallet and opens the door, not even looking up as he hands over a handful of notes.

"I'm appalled you'd think I'm here for money," a voice squawks and no, abso-fucking-lutely _no_.

Louis straightens. "Why the hell are you here?"

"Oh, Lou-Lou, it's always a pleasure to see you. How are you, darling? Am I interrupting anything?"

Louis glares as Nick Grimshaw squeezes his way into the flat, ignoring the fact that Louis' tone suggests he's unwelcome.

"Come inside." Louis grits his teeth. He recalls the moment of weirdness when Nick and him got along at the premiere. He hopes that hasn't given Nick any ideas.

"Wow, Harold is right, you are the messy one," Nick comments as he makes a space for himself on the couch where Louis was previously lounging. "This is cozy." He plucks out a chocolate wrapper wedged between the cushions.

"I'm serious, what the hell are you doing here?" Louis crosses his arms and refuses to sit down. He likes this — being taller than Nick for once.

Nick studies him with the air of a scientist inspecting a new species. "You look as shitty as I thought you would."

" _Grimshaw_."

"Okay, okay. Don't make that face." Nick waves his hands about. He looks around the room one more time, pauses to watch the ongoing screen for a minute, and then returns to eyeing Louis. "Harry sent me here."

"He what?" Louis sputters. His heart expands and he can't fight the smile that threatens to wipe away his stern expression.

"Well, he didn't send me. Not exactly."

Louis' shoulders fall.

"But I've been talking to him and... When was the last time you showered?"

"To the point, you twat."

"Ever the charmer, you are. _Anyways_ ," he crosses one leg over the other, "Harold has been afraid to ask the other boys about you and I think that's pal code for, 'Please, Nick, go check on Louis because I'm worried about him even though I know you're a busy man,' so here I am," Nick says with one breath. It's scary how good his imitation of Harry's slow drawl is.

Louis huffs, feeling his chest tighten. "Worried? He's not worried about me. He's having a fabulous time in LA. Why would he even be concerned?" He closes his eyes and when he opens them, he hopes Nick will be gone. But the man is still there, watching Louis, frown set on his face.

"Are you — _God_ , this is weird, isn't it? I never thought I'd come here to personally ask if you're doing okay but here I am and it's quite sad because I can clearly see you're not okay." He makes a sweeping gesture to indicate their surroundings.

"I am," Louis protests.

"You're not."

"I like being messy so piss off."

"Sure, everyone does once in a while. But you and I both know you're falling off the rails, or however that saying goes, and Harry won't be happy about that."

"Why? Because he'd feel sorry for me? He's in his favorite city having a fucking marvelous time, I doubt he even cares about what happened the other day."

Nick gets up to circle the living room with his hands held behind his back. He passes by Louis a couple of times, putting the other on edge. "He's trying to give you space."

Louis opens his mouth to argue but Nick holds up a hand.

"I believe it's so you'll reconsider your little fling with that Nathaniel —"

"Nathan —"

"— boy."

"Is he reconsidering his friendship with Parker? No! And it's not a fling. It's _not_ like that."

Nick stops pacing in front of a painting of Spider Man that Louis absolutely loves, comments on the fictional hero's muscular thighs, and then: "He's not with Parker for the same reasons that you're with Nathan. Keep that in mind the next time you're out parading yourself with that boy."

Louis doesn't have anything else to say. Nick exits, sparing Louis one final austere glance before he's out the door.

Strangely, Louis has the urge to call out to Nick.

He doesn't.

~ ~ ~

The next two days are wasted on cleaning the flat. Louis considers hiring a pair of cleaners to get the job done, because he doesn't have the energy to do so, but a voice inside his head convinces him that he'll feel better if he does it himself. And it works to some degree. After every last scrap is stuffed into a garbage bag, and every surface and bit of wall looks and smells brand-spanking new, Louis collapses onto his bed, eyes on the ceiling, wishing it would captivate him enough to overpower thoughts about Harry.

Nothing is ever more captivating than Harry Styles. He turns on his side and lets his eyes slip closed, pressing his nose against Harry's pillow and inhaling even though he already washed all of their bedding.

He hasn't turned on his phone since he last gave up hope that Harry would be the first to break the silence between them.

Louis won't be the first, that's for sure. He turns it on and stares at his list of missed calls. It goes: Liam, Liam, Niall, Mum, Liam, Kate Mngmnt, Niall, Nathan.

He can't say he's shocked by the outcome.

He eeny-meeny-miny-moe's the list, a shaking finger landing on Nathan. Screw it.

The phone rings and rings. Finally: " _Louis_!" In the background, Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" drops the base and then picks up again.

"Hey," Louis whispers. Why the fuck is he whispering? He probably can't be heard over the music. "Nate," he greets louder.

" _Hi, Louis, hi!"_ The glee in his voice is pacifying _._

"Hey," he repeats.

" _I miss you_ ," Nathan slurs.

Oh great, fake boyfriend is pissed off his arse. Louis didn't even know Nathan drinks.

"You alright?"

" _Yeah, Louis. I'm allllllllllllright! You too_?"

"'Course I am." Jesus, this is weird.

" _Harry's here too_!"

Louis must have heard wrong. "What?"

" _He's at this party too! Wanna talk to him_?"

Louis' about to pass on the offer but Nathan continues: " _Op never mind! Him and Tom are dancing._ "

"Oh."

Oh.

That's fine. That's totally fucking fine. Fucking wonderful.

Louis gets to his feet.

" _Louis, wish you were here. Why did you go home_?"

"I don't fucking know."

Nathan is silent for twenty long seconds. An Ellie Goulding song starts up. " _Are you mad, Louis_?"

"No. I uh — I have to go. Have fun. Don't get caught drinking illegally in America."

Nathan giggles. Louis hangs up and tosses his phone on the bed.

He goes back to sulking, minus the mess.

~ ~ ~

" _You're going to have to leave your cave eventually_ ," Zayn reasons over the phone the next day.

"Look who's talking."

" _Hey, I, unlike you, enjoy spending alone time. We all know you hate it. Go the fuck outside and work on your tan or something_."

Louis studies his arms and legs. "My tan couldn't be more flawless."

" _Go the fuck outside, Tommo_."

"Join me."

" _I'm busy_."

Louis hates Zayn sometimes. He calls up Liam who quickly agrees to meet up with Louis at Funky Buddha. Louis doesn't even like going to that club but Liam already had those plans and whatever, he'll just get spectacularly drunk and forget about everything.

He slips into a pair of his tightest jeans and a shirt that exposes his collarbones. There aren't any bruises on his skin and it looks wrong. Plain almost. But whatever.

~ ~ ~

The club is sweaty and packed. He's glad Liam is such a regular that they're immediately given a VIP room where only a few groupies are allowed to slip past security. Liam apparently knows them all and offers drinks to everyone. Louis sinks onto a seat in the corner and downs a shot of tequila. A girl in a short, powder blue dress approaches him. She runs a hand through her long blonde hair and bats her eyelashes at Louis. It's been a long time since he's been hit on by a girl, he realizes.

Hasn't she kept up with the media's coverage on his and Nathan's supposed star-crossed lovers romance? Louis read a few articles the other day and felt sick over the bogus speculations and blatant disregard for the fact that the so-called "insiders" supplying the tabloids with information are completely nonexistent.

Either that or their PR team is throwing stories out there.

"Louis Tomlinson," the blonde purrs. She fucking purrs. He wants to laugh but she slips a hand up his thigh that cuts off his amusement.

"Hello." He's not drunk enough to humor the girl with flirtatious conversation and he has a clear view of Liam watching them from the other side of the room anyways, making the situation even more awkward. Liam shakes his head at Louis.

"Want to dance?" Her dark eyes light up with hope.

Louis wonders if that's how Tom got Harry to dance with him the other night — with an attempted puppy-dog allure that does not fucking work on the weak.

He waves a waiter over and downs another shot. It burns.

"Is that a no?" The groupie tugs at her dress where her breasts are almost popping out. It doesn't stir anything in Louis and he knows why.

This is fucking ridiculous.

"Love," he says, condescending tone picking up with speed. "I like dick."

Oops.

She shrugs. "I think that's hot."

Louis takes another shot of whatever liquor Liam ordered for their small party and leads the girl out onto the dance floor. He finds himself enjoying the moment and for once he doesn't sulk about his loss.

~ ~ ~

Waking up on the couch is awful. When he tries to stretch, his spine protests. There's a glass of water filled to the brim on the coffee table, a pair of white pills beside it.

"Payne, you couldn't have helped me to my bed?" Louis calls out, unsure whether Liam's there or not. He pads over to the kitchen to make tea but is met with an angry-looking Harry already poring water into a kettle.

What the hell?

Louis somehow finds his voice, face heating up. "You're back?"

"I got in late last night. You know, when you were trying to bring that girl home." Harry practically slams the kettle onto the cooker. Everything rattles. Mostly Louis' brain. He must have taken more shots after the third one.

"I don't remember anyth —"

"Of course you don't," Harry says tersely. He leans back against the counter and crosses his arms, suddenly taking on a nonchalant approach. "It's all over the place."

Louis gulps. He should have taken the pills because his head is starting to pound. "What is?"

"Your night with that girl. People at Funky Buddha recognized you. Took pictures."

"Oh fuck."

"Yeah, and guess who's been calling your phone all morning."

"My jealous girlfriend, Zayn?"

Harry doesn't seem to appreciate Louis' humor. He shakes his head. " _Sykes._ Good luck dealing with that." He turns a knob on the cooker and leaves Louis standing there with his mouth flopping open and a kettle filled with water for one.

Like a responsible adult, Louis waits for the water to boil and makes his tea before dealing with his problems. He listens to a voicemail from Nathan.

" _Louis, I'm confused. I'm really confused. Call me please. Or don't. I'll be home tomorrow. See you then, I hope_."

Okay. That gives him time.

There's also a message from Kate.

" _You're confusing people with your image, Tomlinson_."

"What image?!" he screams.

No one hears him. Everyone is confused? Yeah and so is Louis. He's got heaps of issues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a filler....sorta....because I wanted to update already! Will update again soon because I cut this chapter in half. xx 
> 
> Also, these are some songs I listened to while writing this chapter: 
> 
> “Can’t Stop” by OneRepublic  
> “Feather on the Cycle” by Passenger  
> "Me and My Broken Heart" by Rixton


	14. this whole time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to make sense.

The staff at the Breakfast Show's headquarters are accustomed to seeing Harry stroll the hallways so he's grateful that no one bothers him as he makes his way towards a familiar recording booth. Heart lodged in his throat, he isn't sure how he'd be able to handle any attention or scrutiny or fanliness (which he's aware is not a word but what else could he call it?).

From his desk, Nick sees Harry standing in the middle of the sound booth and grins for all but three seconds. He points to his watch and signals that he'll be done soon, a crease having formed between each neatly groomed eyebrow.  
  
Harry kicks back with Nick's coworkers and almost forgets why he rushed over in the first place. Until Greg James mentions Louis.  
  
"He said he would co-host with me again," Greg says with a pout.  
  
 _A pout_.  
  
He may still hold a small grudge against James for outright flirting with Louis that time they did a show together for the sake of promoting Take Me Home.

"I'm sure Louis will keep that promise," he says perfectly calm because he isn't like Louis. He likes to be civil and optimistic. Most of the time.

Greg's eyes light up with hope and that's about it for Harry. He has enough problems with Nathan Sykes being Louis'...  _whatever_ — and then there's that blonde from Funky Buddha...  
  
Once Nick goes off air, Harry enters the recording booth while Greg and the others disperse.  
  
"Peasants," he mutters fondly before embracing Harry with a bone crushing hug. "So the rumors about you being spotted at Heathrow in the middle of the night are true. Welcome back, kid."  
  
Harry instantly feels the weight in the pit of his stomach lift. At a snail's pace.  
  
"What's the matter?" Nick asks, stepping back and assessing Harry's face.  
  
Harry bites his lip, nearly drawing blood.  
  
"Ah." Nick nods in understanding. "You heard about Funky Buddha, I presume."  
  
Harry drops into the nearest chair and sags against it, desperately wanting to blend in with the soft upholstery. He came here to talk, and although that's the last thing he wants to do, Nick will most likely deny him the silence.  
  
Might as well.  
  
"He took her home."  
  
Nick raises an eyebrow.  
  
"I found Louis struggling to unlock the door with her plastered to his back." Harry drops his face into his hands, elbows digging into his thighs. The pain is welcomed. "He didn't notice a thing, went straight to the couch and knocked out. I called her a cab before she could join him."

"Well that's... good?"

"Not so much."

"At least he finally showered."  
  
Harry perks up, removing his hands from his face and lowering them to rest on his thighs. "What do you mean by that?" Because as far as he knows, Louis' media presence has been lacking. "What do you mean by 'finally'?"  
  
"Thing is," Nick starts. He coughs, averting his gaze to his lap. "I may or may not have paid Tomlinson a visit the other day."  
  
"Did he shut the door in your face?"  
  
"No, but he did offer me cash. Your boy is strange."  
  
Harry rolls his eyes. "And what did your visit entail?"  
  
"You should have seen him. One would think he crawled out of the sewers to answer the door. I mean, you've always been one to exaggerate, Harold — no offense — but you were right, he's definitely the messy one —"  
  
"Grimmy, I didn't ask for a description of Louis' appearance."  
  
"Right, right. I gave him a little food for thought."

"On...?"

Nick reclines his seat before answering, "On your extended stay in LA."

"Nick!" Harry exclaims in outrage. "What did you say?!"  
  
"Nothing bad." Nick brushes his foot down Harry's leg soothingly, as if it will appease the situation. "I told Louis you were giving him space so he'd rethink his thing with Sykes."  
  
Harry stares at the sound board littered with dozens of buttons he doesn't understand. Is there a way to get them to control a person's life? Harry would like to fast forward over to the part where everything goes back to normal — whatever normal may be. But then again, the movie _Click_ taught him there can be terrible side effects for wanting to skip crucial moments. Especially the difficult ones.  
  
"Was I right?" Nick interrupts his thoughts, bringing him back to the present where he should be.  
  
Harry doesn't answer immediately so Nick adds on, "Tomlinson was short of words. Bit of a miracle, innit?"  
  
Miracle, indeed. Louis has never been quiet with Nick. He always bites the bait. 

"I wonder why he was using that girl."  
  
"Are you hinting that it's my fault Lou-Lou chose to have a hetero night?"  
  
"No, no. 'Course not." Harry fiddles with a volume button, which is the only one he's familiar with. It helps that the label is placed directly below it. "Louis is impulsive, I'm sure he would have done it anyways." Fuck, he really hates the amount of truth in his assumption. "What I'd like to know is how Nathan is taking it. Like, do you think he'll want to end things with Louis?"  
  
"If that occurs, what will _you_ do?"  
  
That's a loaded question. Harry has no clue what he'll do. He had time to think while he was in LA but most of it was spent trying to avoid thinking about Louis. Counterproductive on his part. There's just so much anger and frustration revolving around the one person he longs for, it's driving him mad. Although it gave him a good excuse to buy the motorcycle that is now sitting in Cal's garage back in LA.  
  
And not to forget, there's stuff Tom said at a party they went to. They were plastered and Harry tried very hard to not let any of those words ruin his night.  
  
"Tom told me Nathan's really into Louis," he blurts, feeling as though he vomited everything he's consumed in the last week. Harry can't blame anyone for falling for someone like Louis. It didn't take him much time to do so. It's possible for others to experience the same. He won't pretend it isn't. Doesn't help him feel any better, though. "Turns out Sykes has been crushing on him for ages."  
  
Nick jabs a finger into Harry's stiff shoulder. "He's got nothing on you, Harold, honestly."  
  
Harry sinks into the chair with jet lag tugging at his eyelids, which droop heavily since he hasn't slept in over 24 hours. Before he's completely subconscious, the last thing he hears Nick say is something like: _why would Tom spill his mate's secret like that anyways?_  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Louis is sat in his car in front of Nathan's building, contemplating a suicide mission. He isn't prepared for what Nathan has to say. How can he be if Harry won't leave his mind? Harry saw him with that girl last night.   
  
When will he stop upsetting his boy?  
  
He messages Zayn who seems to have life's answers. Sometimes.  
  
 **Am I a bad person ? :(**  
  
Zayn responds to Louis' text five minutes later:  
  
 _ **Depends on who you're asking**_  
  
Louis scowls and punches out:  
  
 **Asshole !**  
  
It isn't long until Zayn replies:  
  
 _ **Stop messing about and fix it x**_  
  
Fix it. That's what Louis should do. He just needs to find his balls first and fuck, does he even want to do this now? Can't it wait? Another week or two?  
  
 **Can I come over ??**  
  
 _ **No x**_  
  
 **Why not ??**  
  
 _ **I have company x ;)**_  
  
Gross.  
  
Louis stores his phone away, decidedly not inclined to learn details. (He only wonders briefly if Zayn's with a guy again. Or maybe Perrie Edwards. Probably the latter.)  
  
He wants to go home but his feet seem to disagree because they step out of the car before he can make a final decision. His body catches on and he doesn't stop moving until he's in front of Nathan's door, hand raised to knock, and neck a bit sweaty. There isn't an answer while he waits for a whole minute.  
  
Well then. What matters is that he tried. He swings around to make a hasty escape but of course that becomes pointless because Nathan's door creaks open.  
  
"Tomlinson," says an unmistakable voice.  
  
Louis tosses a "Parker" right back as he turns to face him. They smirk at each other as if they rehearsed this exact meeting.  
  
"Here to grovel?"  
  
Tom is a fucking miserable person and Louis would love nothing more than to punch him in the face. Tom positions his hip out and places a hand over it. "Interesting to see you here. I just had a lovely talk with Natey."  
  
"Frankly, I don't give a fuck."  
  
"Of course, since it was about Harry."  
  
Following two eye twitches, Louis pulls Tom out of the doorway and pushes him up against the wall, hands roughly bunching up the collar of his ugly yellow shirt.   
  
He has a feeling they have an audience but his focus is intent on Tom and the incredibly annoying look on his face. He'd really, really like to punch him. The black eye that Louis' fly ball gave him is completely gone now. What a shame.  
  
"Hey!" Nathan calls out in the background. Louis doesn't waver. Tom doesn't blink. "Louis! Let go!"

Louis refuses, not wanting Tom to get the last word. Just as he's about to tighten his grip, an arm slides around Louis' middle and hoists him away from Tom, whose expression is now as blank as the wall he was pinned to. Louis wriggles for a release but Nathan's hold is relentless. And quite strong. When did he get so strong?

How is he losing his strength to Nathan Sykes?  
  
"I'll see you later," Nathan says to Tom as he drags Louis into his flat. The door slams behind them, clanging in its hinges and in Louis' brain. Nathan slackens his hold and turns him around so that they're facing each other. His fingers press into Louis' shoulders without applying pressure. "What was that?"  
  
Louis takes a step back, and another, apparently the farthest he can go without bumping into the door, the knob pressing into his lower back. Nathan's hands fall to his sides, hanging limply. "Louis?"  
  
"It's him! It's Tom!" He probably looks and sounds like a child, telling on the playground bully and jabbing a thumb in the air to indicate who started it.  
  
"Did he say something that bothered you? I thought you were going to hit him."  
  
So close, too.  
  
"Erm..."  
  
"Tell me what happened."  
  
 _He insinuated that I don't care about Harry._  
  
"Please."  
  
"He made a comment that was uncalled for."  
  
"Of course," Nathan says with defeat, wringing his hands out. "I'm honestly not surprised anymore with you two."  
  
The demon he has for a pet trots over to Louis to paw at his exposed ankles.  
  
"Lulu, stop. Louis' allergic to you."  
  
The cat meows serenely, looking up at Louis through the slits it has for eyes. How is it that Nathan remembers a little detail Louis lied about? It's quite sad, actually. It means it'll be harder to shake him off and pretend nothing ever happened between them (not that much happened, anyways).  
  
"How about we sit? I made tea," Nathan suggests, absently picking Lulu up.  
  
"I uh —" Louis mentally reminds himself to relax. "Okay, sure."  
  
The smile that Nathan returns is barely there.  
  
They end up sitting on a balcony Louis never noticed before. It's furnished with a wooden bench and an ugly brown rug that Lulu lays on, belly exposed and eyes expectantly pouring into Louis' soul. He looks away. He refuses to pet that thing.  
  
"Did you have a fun night?"  
  
The question catches him off guard with how sudden and nonchalant it comes.  
  
"Louis, tell me what's going on with you," Nathan begs, sipping his tea and then placing it on the floor.  
  
Louis does the same. To free his hands. Avoid spilling. Shoo the cat away in case it tries something again. "I'm a bit of a mess, to be honest," he admits and that, at least, is truthful.  
  
"Were you getting back at me for partying the other night in LA?"  
  
"What? No, 'course not."  
  
"Then? D—do you not want to be exclusive?"  
  
Louis feels the unwelcome sensation of bile climbing up his throat and it isn't because Lulu has jumped onto the bench and burrowed her head near Louis' hip, despite its owner's previous scolding. "Nate, can you... I don't know how to tell you what I..." He sighs. He can do this, it isn't fucking rocket science or neurology.  
  
The air turns frigid between them, a strange attribute beneath the midday sun. Nathan rearranges himself, head angled downward and eyes peering up at Louis from beneath a row of dark lashes. Louis shivers. He scoots over, closer, leaving a disgruntled cat behind. Nathan lifts his head in a calculated and precise movement, cutting the space between them.  
  
Startled, Louis doesn't have time to asses the situation, or better yet, dodge it. The kiss, more like a very light brush of lips, ends before it actually starts. Louis hadn't moved over to get a kiss and perhaps he makes that obvious because Nathan leans away to wipe at his mouth.  
  
Louis shivers again. There's someone else he rather kiss. Always kiss.   
  
"I saw the pictures."  
  
Oh, right. Funky Buddha. _That girl_.  
  
"We danced, that's all. I passed out when I got home."  
  
"She went home with you," Nathan states, and it's not exactly accusatory.  
  
"She didn't stay."  
  
It's like he's being bombarded by a jealous girlfriend. Why is he even making clarifications?  
  
"I guess _Harry_ took care of it, yeah?"  
  
The way Harry's name was spoken creates a sense of dread form within Louis. Nathan has never been anything but nice towards Harry. Why are there suddenly undertones of disgust in his voice? Even stranger, why did he scrunch up his nose when he said it?  
  
"I saw he was there. At your flat. The paps followed you from the club, y'know."  
  
"Fuck," Louis breathes, except he can't really. He needs a moment to catch his breath.  
  
"It looked like Harry sent her away. Why would he, Louis?"  
  
 _Shit_. Shit shit shit.  
  
"Because he lives there too," he offers up lamely. It probably sounds like a question. "And like," he tries to add quickly, "He worried I'd screw things up. With you."  
  
Nathan chuckles humorlessly as he abandons his seat, nearly knocking over his tea. Lulu jumps into Louis' lap.  
  
"Lulu, get off!"  
  
"It's okay."  
  
It isn't. At all.  
  
"Louis, there's still something between you and Harry. Isn't there?"

"Wh —"

"Tom likes Harry. A lot."  
  
Okay, so that's where this conversation is headed? Is that what Tom came here for? Is that why Nathan is suddenly glaring down at Louis?  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Okay?" Nathan pries the beast off of Louis. His voice comes out shaky when he says, "Tom has been trying with Harry this whole time."

"Wait, you mean, like, romantically?"  
  
He nods, ostensibly grateful for not having to say the words himself.  
  
The confirmation is what hits Louis. He knew Tom was up to something ever since he become all chummy with Harry. Bastard. Trying to enamor the love of Louis's life.  
  
"Harry seems oblivious," Nathan adds, answering Louis' unspoken question. "And I'm pretty sure it's because he hasn't forgotten you, Louis."  
  
Nathan will never know how much joy that information brings to Louis, so much his dick twitches. He readjusts his posture. It's been too long.  
  
"Does Tom know that? I mean, does he think..."  
  
Nathan scratches behind Lulu's ears and proceeds to gently place her back on the rug. "He knows," he says with a delay, the git.  
  
 _Oh_. But shit! If Tom knows, what if the rest of their band knows? What if he spreads it to a wider audience? Takes it to the media?  
  
And then another terrible thought hits Louis. It's so terrible he doesn't bother to mask his reaction.  
  
"You told him."  
  
The look that Nathan gives him is filled with hurt and... something else. Louis rises slowly so as to not appear as affected as he is. Unless his face is giving him away.  
  
"It's always been bloody obvious with you two."  
  
"If that's so, then why would he get in between me and Harry? Couldn't he have respected that Harry was taken?" Louis should probably stop talking at this point. But the utter outrage... And it takes another second too late to figure out that he's just put his foot into his own mouth. He made Nathan believe that he and Harry broke up several months ago. _Good job_ , he could almost hear Zayn condemning him.  
  
"That wasn't so much his doing as it was mine," Nathan blurts.  
  
It pulls Louis out of his head. What? Did Nathan just... Louis' pulse races to an unhealthy speed. He bites out, "Explain." A deep breath. "Explain right now."  
  
"I thought Tom deserved a chance with Harry."  
  
In a near-blinding manner, Louis experiences a click of ideas going off in his head in a disordered fashion.   
  
"You kissed me in front of Harry on purpose. At Jay Leno's show. Oh my god." Louis stands up, ignoring his shaky knees. "You went up to me when I was arguing with Harry at the KCA's and you told me not to invite him over that night —"  
  
"Not on purpose!"  
  
"Then what the fuck, Sykes?"  
  
Nathan's eyes widen. "Don't call me that, please. You've been calling me Nate. I like that."  
  
"Don't change the fucking subject."  
  
Then another thing dawns on Louis. A massive thing.  
  
"You left your fucking jacket in my hotel room so Harry would see it."  
  
Nathan visibly shrinks back, making himself small and unguarded. Louis suddenly feels big and ready. Really fucking ready. "You did, right? How could I have been so stupid to not notice your intentions before? You fucking shit!"  
  
"I promise," Nathan whispers, sounding on the verge of a sob, "they were good intentions."  
  
"How could they have been good intentions, you twat?"  
  
At this point, Louis can't manage his choice of words correctly. He knows he's being harsh and cruel while the other is vulnerable but there's so much going on inside him — thoughts and emotions and all that other shit that is causing his chest to ache.  
  
"You asked for an explanation so let me..." Nathan sucks in a breath. The color of his skin has gone pale while Louis' must be of a crimson red. "I had a feeling you were still seeing Harry. Before and after you tried assuring me it was over between you two. I knew it. And like, Tom is important to me, okay? He asked me to do this for him. He came to me ever since the night you and I danced together after the premiere."  
  
Louis shakes his head, moving backwards until his bum collides with the sliding door that leads back into the flat. He doesn't know this person. Where did the innocence go? What happened to the sweet guy he thought he could trust?  
  
"So you were faking it this whole time?"  
  
"No, no! It's not like that. What I told you the other day about why I like saying your name, that was true. So true. Louis, I helped Tom willingly because the feelings were already there."  
  
"But you knew I was still with Harry."  
  
"You lied to me about that. How does that make you any better than me?" he asks, white-knuckled and tense. "Have you ever been honest with me? Tom's been telling me things..."

" _Fuck_ Tom and _no_ , I haven't been honest. I was with you for two reasons and I'm telling you now because I'm done here."

Louis should shut up. He should leave. 

Nathan blinks back tears. "Louis —"

"One, publicity. Two, because Tom's an ass."

There's a lot left unsaid between them yet Louis finds himself weaving his way back out of the flat. For good, he hopes.

~ ~ ~  
  
Harry wakes up by both Nick's gentle prodding and the vibrations in his pocket. He rubs at his eyes and finds that his head is pounding from how his forehead was resting on Nick's desk.  
  
"Did you drive here?" Nick asks, concerned.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I carpooled with Greg. If you want, I'll drive you home so you can have a proper rest."  
  
"Not home. I—I don't want to see him right now."  
  
"Then we'll go to mine, no problem."  
  
Harry forgets to check his phone until he climbs onto the passenger seat of his Range Rover. Nick is buckling his own seat belt from behind the wheel when Harry sees he has two picture messages from Tom. Curious, he opens the message. He scrolls up. The first picture is a bit blurry, but nonetheless he can tell it's of two men on a balcony. The second one is zoomed in and a little clearer. It's Louis. He's one of the men. Harry recognizes his profile extremely well.  
  
Nick starts up the engine as Harry allows his eyes to move on to examine the rest of the photo. The other person is Nathan. And he's kissing Louis.  
  
"Grimmy," Harry says desperately. "Are you up for a road trip?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's no excuse for another late update. I went on a trip for a few weeks and ever since then, I've been in a crazy funk. Anyway, this story is finally near the end! Probably 2 or 3 more chapters left~
> 
> xx

**Author's Note:**

> ***Additional Disclaimer: The only thing in this fic that I truly ship is Larry. The other ships are just meant for the story. Also, whenever I mention “news articles” or “quotes” from the band members or “tweets” in this story, they will be contrived most of the time (if not all). I might mention some real tweets here and there but other than that, this is mostly fictional as in the events that occur never actually happened, okay? 
> 
> Just wanted to make this stuff clear hehe~
> 
> The title is a song of Metallica's. Only the title goes with this fic, not the lyrcis themselves jsyk.
> 
> xx cheers! 
> 
> :)


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